BitterSweet
by mdna
Summary: An aloof, conceited city guy meets a warm, down to earth small town girl. They hate each other's guts… but maybe love other parts of each other  ;  DELENA AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:Oh my god, I managed to squeeze in another story before school starts. How?**

**Not sleeping of course. It's the secret to all success, haven't you heard? **

**On a lighter note; this story is about young adults, thriving in the big city, both working hard to achieve their dreams but their paths somehow crossed.**

**Different from "This Thing Between Us" I wanted to make BitterSweet more fun and witty…with less complications.**

**DELENA-concentrated**

**Disclaimer: I do not own characters used in this story.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

"Oomf…" Elena carried the largest but thankfully the last luggage up the fifth flight of stairs and was relived to meet with her apartment door. She left it unlock so she could easily tossed her things inside after each trip up and down the stairs.

The elevator had chosen the perfect day to be 'out of service'; her moving day.

She gave the entire floor another scan. There was no sign of life, no curious new neighbors to greet her or welcome her, no one exiting or entering their apartments. There was a janitor sweeping at the far end of the hallway and even he ignored her.

"Hiya! I'm new here…" She waved.

"Eh-hmm" he rolled his eyes.

'Tough crowd' Elena thought.

And it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Maybe it was the city life; people are not as warm or friendly here. Not like back at home.

She was sweating from the vigorous work out and took off her button down shirt to wrap it around her waist. In a white tank top, Elena took a deep breath before dragging her luggage into her apartment. There used to be wheels at the bottom corners of it but they came off in the taxi.

Proving once again, inanimate objects had terrible timing.

The dragging made a whole lot of screeching noises together with her grunting; she sounded like that overly buffed guy pumping irons at the gym.

With hundred percent of effort, the luggage was successful moved…. half an inch forward. She can't even remember what she packed in it.

Rocks?

Tomb stones?

Oh yes! She brought her whole shoe collection…all…of…it!

She collected tons of shoes over the years and could never throw out a single pair.

'_Who knows? Maybe a suitable event will come up and I'll need them!'_ She always said.

"Damn, this is heavy…"she huffed.

Elena tried again but the apartment door across from her opened and someone exited. 'Oh goodie, neighbor! 'Maybe he could help' she thought to herself as she looked at him, well his back anyway.

He was a young male in casual t-shirt and jeans, mid 20-ish; Elena guessed.

He jiggled and twisted his keys, locking his door. Elena straightened herself, feeling her back ached. She waited for him to turn around to introduce herself.

He turned towards the elevator and caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eyes, under Ray Bands shades.

"The elevator isn't working…" she said politely.

"Thanks…" he said after a pause and stared at her larger-than-Dumbo bag.

"I'm Elena, I'm new in the building" and then silence.

"Could you possibly lend me a hand… with this?" she pointed at her luggage and then silence again.

"Love to, but I don't have the time right now" and poof! He was gone

Her mouth gapped. Outranged… shock…and then anger.

"Well that was RUDE!" she muttered under her breath

"Who wears sunglasses indoor anyways…?"

Anyway it doesn't matter.

She was there, finally there. The bumpy flight, the terrible plane food, the stringent baby cries that could have possible impaired her hearing forever, it was totally worth it.

She had a job, an apartment, some friends to get her by…what else do you need to start a new life in an exciting city? Elena inspected the apartment.

'Small but comfy, dirty but has character, no great view but at least….' her thoughts pause and her body suddenly was stiff as a board. She couldn't breathe.

A cockroach crossed the kitchen.

'Oh god, Oh god, Oh god…it's coming towards me. Maybe if I stay still, it can't see me…does cockroaches even have eyes? But discovery channel had said that…no! It's going towards the door. Oh please, please don't crawl into my luggage! Oh good it's going out to the hall, oh no! it stopped…okay it's moving again…'

Her body froze for a minute until she was sure the cockroach had disappeared.

'Wow that was intense, now where was I? Oh yes…This was it! My big moment to get a shot at success! Make something out of myself and my life. I was meant for something great…I can feel it'

Optimism was flowing through her vain "Look out world here I come…!" she shouted out the window.

"Who gives a shit!" the world shouted back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Damon met up with his father at a fancy restaurant up town. From outside, Damon could spot him through the windows. Giuseppe was already seated; waiting for his son to make an appearance

Whenever he came to the city to 'visit' his son, Giuseppe will always request meeting him there and Damon suspects it was because of the blond waitress.

Heck, it was the same reason he came there last time. And then came the menu;

Waitress: "Would like the roast chicken or the grilled salmon, sir?

Damon: "What about…. a small uptown apartment? It cost right about the same amount…"

Waitress: "Perhaps you should try a different restaurant"

Damon: "I'm just here for a name and number" *winked*

Waitress: "I only have one name…and I've already given it to that gentleman over there, sorry"

She smugly said and pointed to an old, pompous but rich looking guy with a cigar between his lips.

'Yuk…!' Damon hated girls like that. They were like leaches, they hang on your pocket and never let go.

But she was still great to look at. Damon just hoped his father was smarter than that.

Giuseppe wore an impressive suit to match the vibe of luxury of the restaurant he had chosen, his walking stick loyally at his side.

He didn't need one actually, he was walking just fine. Quite fit for his age…but guess he liked the way it made him look.

In contrast, Damon wore a normal t-shirt with his favorite pair of jeans. The only respect he wanted to show his father was not to show up in his tattered old sneakers.

He took a deep breath and calmly entered the restaurant. His mission: to impress his father and convinced him he was keeping afloat in the city.

As usual, Giuseppe would ask about Damon's work, how much he was making and whether he had any promotions lately, finding any imperfection in his son's life as an excuse to drag him back home.

"If you work for me son, I'd put you in the Vice President's seat. You wouldn't have to start from the bottom like in these big corporations. Not to mention the tough competition you got here…will take years for you to move up the career ladder…" Giuseppe went on and on as Damon nodded silently.

He let his old man vent out his frustrations of not having his eldest run the family business. He wished he could make his father proud and happy but he just didn't want to take easy way to success.

He needed to prove to himself, more than to his family that he can make it on his own.

Sure he'd ride the elevator up the corporate world if he'd joined his father's business, but what if he didn't want to, what if elevator rides make him dizzy, what if he preferred climbing up with his bare hands like in that show 'man versus wild', what if…

"You know son, I've been wanting to ask you a question…" Giuseppe tapped his spoon at the edge of his coffee cup and snapped Damon back to reality. "I think you know how much it will mean to me if you come home and help the family out."

Damon straightened up at his father's serious tone. "And apart from all this business mambo jumbo…I just wanted to ask you…are you happy son?"

He didn't expect that question; it came at him like a curved ball. He gulped unexpectedly, not having a rehearse answer to it; unlike all the other questions.

But soon Damon realized that it came from a rare fatherly tenderness that was seldom seen in his father.

"It's been tough, I admit…" Damon leaned in his chair. "But I'm nearly there. It feels good to be appreciated by your hard work…I think you of all people knew that…"

"Yes, son…Yes I do…" there was a warm silence between them.

Damon's phone suddenly rang and heads turned. A red sign nearby clearly said "Kindly put your phone in silent" but he ignored the judging eyes and the goddamn sign

"What is this? A library? For Christ's sake... It's ridiculous…" he shot a look at his father who just shrugged.

"You better seal that contract fast Salvatore, or the board will cut off both our heads…"his boss, Klaus practically shouted through the receiver. He covered the phone with his palm and excused himself while Giuseppe eyed him suspiciously.

Why the hell did Klaus call him on a Saturday afternoon, in the middle of his meeting with Giuseppe and reminding him about work that he was already aware of?

Either he had something shoved up his ass or someone told him the world will end tomorrow…because Klaus was seriously edgy and anxious.

"Look Klaus, when I say, I'll get it done…I'll get it done alright…" that should have been the end of it, that should have shut him up but noooo…

He went on and on and on to a point where Damon just left his phone opened on the table while he continued his lunch and picked it up in time to say "Okay, boss. See you Monday…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Damon was exhausted. After his lunch, he went to Dean's house. Dean said the words 'beer' and 'huge plasma TV' and he was sold, rushing across town to reach Dean's place.

But later he found out that 'beer' meant 'one can of beer' and 'huge plasma TV' was just 'four 20 inch TVs stacked on top of each other'.

"You're an ass, Dean…I'm never coming over to your house again" he hung up the phone and climbed up the stairs, mumbling alone.

When he reached his floor, a girl in a flirty skirt excited the apartment across the hall. She left the door slightly open.

Music…voices…laughter…

Curiously, Damon peered his head inside.

It was a party. Not too many people but a party none the less.

"Alright!" Damon's mood lightened up but the number one rule to crashing a house party…chat up the owner.

He vaguely remembered a small, long brown haired girl who just moved in there today. He spotted her in the kitchen, pouring soda drinks into paper cups.

"Erika! Remember me…your neighbor?" he leaned on the kitchen counter.

"Oh you…its Elena by the way…" she didn't look happy to see him. Why would she? He was mean earlier.

"I'm Damon…" he shook her hand and instantly thought; "cute little creature she is…not too bad in the front side…and the back…' he leaned back a little to check out her ass.

Elena suddenly looked up, her brows raised.

"So…" he cleared his throat. "…first day here and already a party? Impressive…"

"It's hardly a party, just a get together with some of my old friends. They moved here long before I did. So…anything I should know about living here?"

"Ermmm…well, the plumbing sucks, so kudos on your impeccable taste" he mocked a toast.

"If you need a repair guy, Ernie, he's in apartment 15A. Sometimes…okay, a lot of times, there are black outs. So have a flash light with you. Larry…apartment 32B…creepy old guy. Don't go knocking on his door…" he heard her laughed.

It was a heart-warming laugh, a really sultry kind of melody…Damon shook his head.

Time to move in for the kill.

"This apartment is a bit small, probably could fit a single bed in there…not a queen or anything" he casted his bait.

"No, I don't really mind…it's just me."

'_Ah-haa…that means she's single' Damon_ analyzed

"I just need the basic necessities you know? I'm really focused on my new career and I don't want distractions…"

'_Which everyone knows was the code for 'commitment-phobic' '_

"But I come from a small town call Mystic Falls and this is a big change. I don't want to miss out on some fun either…"

_Single, commitment-phobic hottie, looking for a good time. BINGO! _

"You know…I can show you a good time…" Damon was grinning like a fool, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Excuse me?"

"And since it's so convenient…" referring to the fact that they lived right next to each other. "I think things will work out just great, if you know what I mean?"

"No, I don't know what the hell you're talking about Damon! Are you always such a douche or is it the soda?" She was so pissed.

Damon looked at her like she was an alien. "I got the message loud and clear…you're into me…"

"Oh my god! I am not. There's a loose screw up in your brain…maybe you should go see Ernie in apartment 15A and get it fixed!" she stormed off.

Left gaping like fish on land, Damon snorted seconds after and brush off his ego. "Who needs her?"

Off to his next target; a blond girls standing alone in a corner.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so excited to share this story with you. It's my first go at humor type writing. <strong>

**Okay, I made Damon a jerk, but don't worry he won't stay that way..**

**And incase you were wondering, yes. It is Dean from Supernatural, because I just think they'll make great pals. **

**Like it or not? Leave your thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Shout out to my sister who is my toughest critic but my best advisor. Enjoy this story. **

**Please let me know which is your fav part. Feed backs are my fuel. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this story.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

Thudding, banging, pounding sounds were coming from across the hall.

An argument!

Someone was arguing but Elena could not make out what it was about through the layer of walls.

There were screams and shouts, back and forth between a pissed off woman and a very angry man.

She tip toed to her front door, pressing her ear to it. She heard the words;

'…womanizer…son of a bitch…liar…big headed…small ass… 'and a lot of cursing

'_Wait what? Who has a small ass? Damon has a small ass? It looked fine the other day, rather plump and bouncy actually…not that I was checking out his ass or anything… '_ she listened again

'oooh…USELESS!'

And then, a loud door slam made her jump.

"You're such a drama queen you know that Andie! Open the door!" it was Damon.

Obviously, he was fighting with his girlfriend and she locked him out.

Elena giggled to herself, not feeling a shred of sympathy what so ever.

'_Serves you right'_ she said.

She sat back on the couch wishing she had a television set to drown out the noise from outside.

Damon was knocking on his apartment door while calling out his girlfriend. It was getting annoying but strangely, nobody else minded.

Listening to him being kicked out of his own apartment was entertaining but she might as well do something useful. She stuffed her ears with some Adele music from her ipod, and cleaned all the plates.

'_Rolling in the deeeeppp…'_

Half an hour later, she took off her ear phones and heard nothing.

Peace at last!

"Thank god" she sighed, thinking;

'_maybe that 'Andie' woman finally had mercy on everyone living on the floor and let Damon back inside.'_

_or_

'_maybe he was knocking so hard that his wrist got dislocated, which somehow was connected to a nerve ending in his throat and caused temporary muteness, so he stopped knocking and yelling…while he lay vulnerable on the ground, eventually, that horny old widow from down the hall could not help but notice his plump, bouncy ass and even though Damon has mentioned to her before that he isn't interested in her, she took advantage of him and held him hostage in her dodgy apartment, filled with cats…NO STOP IT!'_

She gathered take out boxes from around the house into a plastic bag and decided to take out the trash. When she exited the door, she was surprised to find a man sitting on the floor, across from her. He looked up at her with a humorless smile.

She held in her laughter and walked on by, "Beautiful night isn't it?" she casually said.

She chucked the plastic bag down the trash chute and entered her apartment while Damon watched on, feeling pretty foolish.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Her smile mocked him and he hated it. Damon looked left and right, the hallway was dark and empty and then he looked down at himself, pathetically sitting on a welcome mat that Andie bought several months ago when she started staying over.

'_Well I felt pretty damn 'welcomed' alright!'_

'_Idiot'_ he called after himself and stood up.

'_There was no way in hell Damon Salvatore will be locked out of his own apartment and left sleeping in the hallway like some kind of hobo!_' He won't let Andie emasculate him and throw him out.

Womanizer, she had said

Well, he can't help that girls fall to his feet, wanting to buy him lunch, or pretended to lose their car keys so he'd send them home (that was a good one though), or needed help to make their ex's jealous by asking him to dinner, or cry at his shoulder and asked him to help 'cheer' them up (by cheer, they meant the 'big happy') , or send him sexy texts a pictures for that matter…

"I'm innocent!" he shouted.

'Fuck this!'

He was going down to the bar, and get wasted…call Ric and Dean…and get them wasted and then boost his ego at the clubs…maybe go crash some parties…

He furiously padded his jeans to locate his car keys; "Fuck!" they were in his room together with his phone.

Damon was furious; he punched the air and cursed under his breath. Knocking was useless; Andie wouldn't open the door even if the building was caught on fire!

Damon started pacing back and forth like a tiger in its cage until his eyes fell on the Elena's door and a light bulb lit up in his head.

Three gentle but persistent knocks was all it took, Elena opened the door, peeking at him through a tiny open slot.

She obviously didn't trust him.

"Yes?" her raspy voice came from behind it.

Damon gave an award winning smile."Can I come in?"

"No! Why? You look comfortable camping out in the hallway…" she enjoyed teasing him but Damon just rolled his eyes.

"I need to climb out your balcony and reach my balcony…to get into my house" he explained.

A silent moment that could mean she was considering it.

"NO! Go away!" she started to push her door close but he stuck in his foot.

'_God, she is annoying!'_ but he reminded himself to keep his composure and used his people skills that everyone loved so much.

"I know we didn't start off on the right foot, Erika…"

"Elena..." she corrected him.

"Okay…Elena. But I just need this one favor and then I'll be out of your hair. Come on…help your neighbor out" he smirked.

'_Surely she can't be immune to my charms'_ he hoped silently.

She said nothing but stepped aside to give him entry. "Thank you…" he walked around her and his eyes went straight to her cute pink pajama "cute PJ's…now which way's the balcony?"

Elena narrowed her eyes and he could tell she regretted her decision right away.

Reluctantly, she pointed to the other side of the empty living room and Damon strode across it.

'_Wow this place is a piece of….'_ He thought as he passed. No TV, no tables, no chairs, just a couch and a huge rack of…..

"So it that your entertainment? Make puppet shows using your shoes…"

She was boiling. "Yes actually, my friends LOVE it…" she faked a smile; "The colorful ones are for fairytale stories….and the leathery ones are for war stories…"

"World War one or World War Two?" he grinned

'_God! Why is he so pesky?' _her head screamed.

"Neither…it's War in Iraq"

"What about the leopard printed ones?" Damon was kind of curious now.

She just rolled her eyes and pushed him towards the balcony.

There was a solid brick ledge overhang about one foot wide between her balcony and his.

But they were far from each other; '_a dozen steps maybe…no, ten…or maybe seven if he took big steps_.' Damon guessed.

And below him was a four story high fall. He did some calculations in his head, if his calculations were correct, this height could definitely kill a man.

And his calculations showed that it would only take him half a second to dumb Andie fucking-dramatic- Star.

'_Oh, she was going to get it this time! I'm gonna hit her where it really hurts… murder that gold fish of hers' _

Damon was not an animal hater or anything but that Gold fish was so…spoiled! Andie would have bought him diamond studded collar if fish could wear collars…or even take him on walks if someone invented fish bowl with wheels.

"Oh, but Damon…Garry understands me. He knows if I'm upset or angry…we have this connection…" he mimicked Andie's voice and mumbles alone.

"What did you say?" Elena asked.

"Err…nothing." he looked down over the balcony, hesitating his move.

It was silent.

"Do you think Gold fishes have feeling?"

"What? What's that got to do with anything?" it was so random, her mind was shutting down.

"Never mind…forget it…"

The thin ledge looked sturdy and reliable to step on. He was confident he could make it to the next balcony.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Elena asked from behind him.

"Yes…it's a piece of cake." He lied and positioned himself on the balcony's railing.

He tried convincing himself; 'This is nothing…he and his pals did a lot more crazy things than this. They climbed a 7 feet fence once to sneak into an A-list-only club, with at least 5 Rottweilers on the other side….okay, there was no A list celebrities inside… but they still had a rockin' time…Damn this is high…' his train of thought stopped.

"What if she locked the balcony doors?" Elena said, inspecting the lunatic on her balcony.

"She never locks it…" he made a few steps onto the ledge, plastering his front to the wall and his back towards nothing but air.

"Did you try apologizing?" she sarcastically suggested as he took more steps sideways.

"Do you mind? I'm trying not to die here." He put one foot after the other and was now half way the distance.

His next step was too quick and he suddenly slipped but managed to balanced himself. He gasped and felt his heart jumped up his throat, pressing his body against the wall tighter.

Elena blurted instantly; "Oh my god…you're crazy. You're going kill yourself Damon, and the police will think it was my fault. Get down before you fall flat on the side walk!" Elena hissed, not to draw attention from the neighbors.

Damon was breathing hard; "Just tell them Andie pushed me…we were arguing on the balcony…it was all very dramatic, you saw everything…and she had crazy eyes…"

Even if he died, at least that psycho girlfriend of his would go to prison…'correction'…ex-girlfriend!

The cold air and a pigeon that flew by reminded him of the height, but he continued until he finally reached safety.

He grinned at her when he set foot on the balcony, bowing exaggeratedly like some big shot stunt man.

Elena rolled her eyes; _'more like a balancing clown on a rope…'_

But she did felt relieved as she watched him slide open his balcony doors and disappeared into his house. She stayed a little longer, keeping her ears alert to make sure he got in safely. But it was quiet.

'_Guess he made it in'_ she thought before closing her own balcony doors.

She was about to lock her front door, when loud crashing sounds came from across the hall and then …..

A knock came at her door.

Dripping with red goo and garbage, he still tried to sound cool and collected when he said;

"Can I come in?" and Elena burst out laughing…hysterically.

He tripped over the dustbin in the kitchen as he entered his apartment and woke Andie who attacked him with a frying pan and raw tomatoes.

Elena found the situation hilarious enough to let him in. Damon showered and was given permission to crash on her couch with one condition; he had to be gone by morning.

Damon swallowed his pride and took her offer, a little surprised with how trusting she was. He understood that it was hard to trust people in the big city but Elena was kind enough the help.

_Where did she say she came from again?_ He couldn't remember because the last time she had told him, he wasn't really paying attention.

But he had to admit, she was a pretty little thing in that pink pajamas. Too bad she turned him down that night at the party._' It was her loss'_ he thought before dozing off.

Elena was happy to find him gone the next morning, leaving a thank you note on the neatly folded blanket she lent him the night before.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for stopping by. Tell me what you think..come on don't be shy<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Right! So this is the update. Humor type story is actually tough you know! Because everyone has different opinions about **

**what is funny and what is not. So I said: "Challenge Accepted!" hehehe. Just wanted to give it a go. So enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do own the stories used in this story.**

* * *

><p>Chapter3<p>

"I'm having second thoughts about this Caroline…" Elena stood in front of the mirror. She held the phone between her ear and shoulder as she checked her dress.

"He's an amazing guy, trust me. I'm confident you guys will hit it off" Caroline said through the phone with that chirpy voice, that 'I-know-what-I'm doing' voice.

She sounded so determined to set Elena up with this Stefan guy but Elena couldn't believe she was desperate enough to agree to a blind date in the first place.

It was probably because she was hammered last Friday night when Caroline suggested it.

'Why not? That's a great idea…!' she had said. And then she got up to the karaoke machine…and all hell broke loose….god knows what she did after that.

She vaguely remembered singing but with not a lot of lyrics…there was a lot of 'raaa,raaa…' and 'romance…'

'_Oh shit! I sang Lady Gaga! Wonder what that sounded like….Urgh, why did Caroline thought I meant it? And now there was no way to back out'_

"You need to put yourself out there, let them know you're single and available. You've been here almost 3 weeks now, it's about time you go on a date…"Caroline continued to convince her, giving encouraging words until the call ended. Elena glanced at her watch, it was 8pm sharp.

She had another half an hour before her mystery date arrives which was not a lot of time for preparation…and she was starting to doubt her dress.

Maybe she was showing too much cleavage, or too much shoulder, the color red might send off too much sexual vibe.

'_What if the guy was a complete pervert?'_

She ran back to her closet and opted for a navy blue satin dress that hugged her waist but left other areas loose with elegant movements.

Satisfied with her choice, she then put on some light make up with natural pale lipstick and the tiniest hint of blush. In case the date was a total disaster, she wanted to wear something she was able to run in, a pair of light blue wedges.

She glanced at her watch again and saw that she had another ten minutes to spare and decided to curl her hair.

Approximately ten minutes later, she heard a knock at the door and her heart jumped. "Oh God that's him…" she quickly but calmly answered the door, inhaling deeply to prepare for whatever kind of guy Caroline thought was a perfect match for her.

The sparkle of excitement in her eyes died the moment she saw Damon at the door.

"What do you want now?" she didn't bother hiding her irritation. There was no need to, he wouldn't care.

Just like dozens of times before when he would knock at her door for sugar…or coffee…or soap…or…. get this;

…a fly swatter!

No matter how pissed off she looked, he would insist on borrowing things.

It was as if she was slowly becoming Damon's personal little supermarket in which he could get whatever he needed.

"You look great. Where are we going tonight?" he gave that annoying little smirk that she would just love to scrub off his face with a wire brush.

" 'I' am going on a date and 'you' will leave. My date's going to be here any minute now…" she shooed Damon away but he continued eyeing her like his next meal.

Her blood started to boil and she cleared her throat furiously.

"Oh right…do you have a waffle maker?" he casually asked.

"A what?" she frowned at him, wondering how she ended up with a pesky wacko as a neighbor.

"Why do you need a waffle maker? Who eats waffles at 8.30pm"

"Okay first of all…who decided that waffles can only be eaten in the morning? I mean, is there a big book of 'food-rules and regulations'…I don't think so" he looked smug.

"Secondly it's not 8.30, its 9.15…" he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What?" Elena glanced at her watch again only to discover that the battery died. She reached for her phone for the accurate time and it was really 9.15pm.

Along with several missed calls from her date that she hadn't realized. A text message said that he will meet her at the restaurant seeing how he didn't know her address and she didn't answer his calls.

Panic instantly washed over her.

"Shit, I had my phone on silent…"she pressed buttons on her phone frantically, trying to call back the number. She was about to lock her door behind her when she saw Damon still waiting for the waffle maker and she grunted.

"Here, take what you need, but I'll need those back when I come back, understand?" she dug her hand bag to find her extra set of keys and handed them to a smiling Damon.

"Thanks." He watched her hurried towards the elevator to quickly leave for her date.

'Lucky bastard' he simply thought of whoever was going on that date with her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stefan was an intelligent guy. He was polite and even forgave her for being late. Elena admitted that she thought he would have cancelled the date when she didn't pick up the phone.

"These things happen…"he smiled charmingly. "I hope you don't mind, I ordered the appetizers while I waited" he said once she settled in her seat, unfolding her napkin.

"I'm glad you did…" she was surprised at how fast she fancied him. He was so good looking, with his sharp features and thick brown hair, not a strand out of place.

In fact, there were definitely a lot of female eyes glancing his way every two minutes.

Stefan was a lecturer, teaching political science at NYU and she was impressed with his broad knowledge.

He came from a line of educators, his parents were both teachers and he had many other relatives teaching in almost each state. He was also witty and showered her with compliments, from her hair down to her shoes and Elena didn't do much but blushed the whole night.

Well, blushed and munched of course

'…_.these raviolis are to die for!'_ her eyes practically rolled back with each bite.

They talked for hours, mostly about the city life, their jobs and how much he enjoyed teaching. He even offered to show her around the campus one day.

"Are you a favorite among your students?" Elena asked at the end of the main course, leaning forward to show interest. Stefan blushed a little gave a shy smile.

Elena wanted to lean in and…pinched his cheeks…he was so darn cute.

'_Wait, is that a natural reaction towards a date?'_

'_Yes of course it is…in fact I've read in Cosmo once, that it could be a form of foreplay'_

"Being a young lecturer in a class full of freshmen comes with its consequences…"Stefan held in a chuckle.

"Like what?" his laugh was contagious and she found herself giggling at something he hadn't reveal yet.

"I get at least ten letters from secret admirers each week, anonymous phone calls, text messages and not to mention my consultation hours…" he gave another charming smile that she thought was too adorable.

"If I had a penny for every student that came to me with a genuine course related question… It wouldn't be enough to buy me a stamp."

His wits entertained her and she really enjoyed his company.

After dinner, he picked up the bill, helped her into her coat and held the door open for her. Not the slightest hiccup in what must have been the most perfect date Elena had ever been on. She wondered if he somehow mastered the arts of dating and kept a checklist with him the whole time.

~'Bring date to the best restaurant…check!'

~'Be charming and funny…check!'

~'Subtly usher date towards the door (with hand 5 inches above her butt –to show respect and 15 inches below the shoulders- to stay clear of the 'friends-only' zone)…check!'

Whatever his secret was, it worked like a charm because she looked forward to their next date.

They shared a cab together on the way back and he insisted on sending her home first. Elena felt a little nervous as she opened the main door to the apartment building, feeling her hands trembling slightly.

Stefan made small talk on the elevator and then walked her to her door.

"This is it…" she gestured towards the door, postponing the act of actually opening it.

"I had a wonderful time Elena. I'm really glad we had dinner…" Stefan took a step closer and her heart raced.

"Me too" her voice was shaky as he leaned in to kiss her. Shivering with anticipation, her eyes closed only to fly wide open again at the sudden swing of her apartment door.

There was a shirtless man standing in her doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

'_Why is there a shirtless man standing in my door way wearing nothing but a pair of boxers?'_ She asked herself…completely speechless.

IT WAS HIM!

She eyed Damon furiously, wanting to strangle him but not daring to look at Stefan's expression.

Ignoring the fact that Elena looked like she was about to explode, Damon nonchalantly shook Stefan's hand; "Hi…I'm Damon. How are ya'?" with a bottle of beer on the other.

But Stefan too was speechless.

"I borrowed your washing machine, don't touch my stuff in there" he said sternly to Elena before walking off to his own apartment, his boxer shorts hung dangerously low on his hips.

'_Brain collapsing…must kill Damon...washing machine…'_ words jumbled up in her head.

"I should go..." she heard Stefan muttered awkwardly and she quickly plastered a smile on her face.

"No wait! It's just my crazy neighbor." She blocked Stefan from leaving. "Wait here, I'll talk to him…" she left him in the hall way and stomped into Damon's apartment.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Damon was ironing his clothes in the middle of his living room; he stood facing the television, when Elena came at him like a wild charging rhinoceros with its horn cut off.

"What the hell Damon?" She took the remote and shut off his television because he'd better be listening when she talked.

"Its laundry day…"he stated as if it was a known public holiday like Valentine's Day or mother's day, pointing at the basket full of his clothes beside him.

"You can't just show up half naked in people's house! You just embarrassed me in front of my date. Give me back my keys…" she stretched out her hands, palms facing up; her chest still heaving with rage.

"You said I can borrow anything I wanted. Well I wanted to use the washing machine. But I can't very well carry it here now can I, Elena?" he reasoned, flinging around the iron in his hand as he spoke.

"You can't be bothered to throw on a pair of pants, for God's sake? What if it was my mother at the door…"

"I told you, its laundry day…hence, everything needs washing. You're lucky I even kept these on…and even if I didn't…its' a great ice breaker if your mother was at the door…" it was his cool as a cucumber attitude that enraged her more.

"Well yes…Mrs. Gilbert. I do have a great body…thank you for noticing" he played out how a conversation with Elena's mother would be like, to prove his point.

"You're such an ass!"

The argument went on for a good minute or two. When he finally handed the keys back to her, Stefan was long gone.

'_Great…terrific…best date ever'_ she softly mumbled to herself as she dragged her feet back to her apartment.

Elena couldn't sleep that night, staring blankly at the ceiling. Damon was driving her crazy and the worst part was that he didn't give a damn.

He was so full of himself that he'd always think he was right. Elena plotted her revenge, trying to find a way to get even.

* * *

><p><strong>Working on the rest of the story. I'm updating everyday (because I have no life!) because my classes starts on the 19th...so chop...chop.<strong>

**Thanks for reading. leave a comment.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: People are losing interest in this story and so am I :( **

**But I've written so much already...oh whatever! I'm gonna post up to where I finished...and MAYBE i will continue...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this story **

* * *

><p>Chapter4<p>

Despite the chaos that came with living across the hall from a conceited, arrogant, self centered man, Elena managed to focus on her work and even her boss, Elijah, started to notice her.

He stopped by her cubicle one day to compliment her work which meant a lot coming from a reserved, quiet man like him.

She was just an assistant, but maybe if she worked harder and with a little luck, she might be promoted in less than a year

'_Happy thoughts'_

One night, she was going through some paper work he had given her. Lounging on the couch with a hot cup of coffee in hand, Elena marked errors on a draft of the company's contract with a red pen.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been at it but she was on the last page.

Occasionally, her friends rang her up and invited her down to the bar but she declined. Yes, it was pathetic to be doing work on a Friday night but she didn't want to be bothered on the weekends.

Elena liked her Saturdays and Sundays to be guilt-free.

A knock suddenly came at her door, the kind of knocking that she was familiar with and hated.

She ignored it until Damon called out; "Elena…" in a singsong tone. Elena sighed and stomped her foot towards the door.

From outside, it sounded like King Kong was coming to the door. But as always, it didn't bother Damon.

"Yes?" she said with insane politeness, batting her eyelashes in mock modesty.

Damon was pleased with the way she greeted him and leaned against the door frame with a cocky grin. It was an improvement from her uptight-I hate your guts-fuck off greetings.

"What are you doing in there?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"None of your business..." she snarled, her curtsey crumbled away together with Damon's smile.

"I know you're still mad at me about what happened last week. I came to apologize."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest and scrutinized his expression.

It looked sincere but she said nothing.

She hesitated so he reached his back pocket and fan out two tickets in front of her face.

"My peace offering…two tickets to a movie premier next week. You could just call that guy I scared off the other night and take him to the movies." Elena took the tickets from him.

Well it was kind of…thoughtful and she really would love to see Stefan again.

She pursed her lips, deciding whether or not to accept the tickets.

If she took it, it meant;

'I forgive you and you could keep on borrowing things from me and not return them or use my balcony as a second entrance to your house…anytime!'

But it also meant;

'I'll get another chance with Stefan and he will be my boyfriend, which means he will be around to kick your ass if you disturbed me'

"Thanks!" she took em'.

She didn't bother asking where he had gotten them or how much it cost because then she would have felt guilty for accepting.

Damon suddenly checked his watch; "Oops, gotta run. I have a date of my own. Sweaty palms…wish me luck" he rubbed his hands together and turned to leave.

Only then Elena noticed that he was sharply dressed in a leather jacket over black button shirt. His dark jeans went perfectly with his look completed by a pair of fancy dress shoes.

'Must be some chick he's trying to impress' she arched an eyebrow. "Good luck…" she called after him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, it's me again, Elena. You must be busy and all…but I was just wondering if you'd be interested to go to a movie premier with me next Wednesday. I think it will be fun, so call me back when you get this. Bye"

She said after the beep, making sure the message she left was not too short or too lengthy…she didn't want Stefan to think she was desperate or anything (just moderately desperate really).

If there was a desperado-meter, she'd scored a six out of ten.

It would be a shame if Stefan blew her off, there were great chemistry between them and Elena was certain she wasn't just imagining it.

She didn't even get to explain the weird situation that happened last time.

'He must have thought I was some kind of slu…no! NOT Elena Gilbert. I'm a nice girl from Mystic Falls, with flawless records. Ask any of my ex-boyfriend and they will say; Oh Elena, the best I ever had!'

Technically Matt will say that, the rest wouldn't…

Rodney from freshmen year would say; 'Oh Elena, the neediest girl I ever had'

Harris from that summer break would say; 'Oh Elena the sweetest- but we don't have anything in common-girl I ever had'

'On my defense, Rodney was a senior and I just stuck to his side cause I wasn't familiar with the campus yet…It was a complete maze and I sat through dozens of classes that I didn't even register…I mean how to find 'Building H-1/level 6/right-center-new wing/class BM20/008' on your first week?

EXACTLY!'

'Harris on the other hand was a stud…a surfer with tan skin and blond hair. Who admitted he liked me but then I remembered saying something like…'oh I don't really like the beach…the sand gets everywhere, my hair, my swimsuits…I'd rather go to the pool' and he looked like he was about to get a heart attack'

She flopped back onto her couch, it seems that all the number she dialed lead straight to voice mail. Not that she could blame her friends, she rejected their offers earlier anyway.

They were probably busy having fun, including Damon.

She suddenly thought of him on a date with a beautiful blonde and suddenly felt angry. It was his fault Stefan ran off, who knew what Stefan thought of her now.

She lost a potentially great boyfriend and it wasn't fair that Damon had a happy ending to his date and she got nothing,

…but then again…

Elena took pieces of clothes from the dryer to her balcony, her eyes gleaming mischievously as she imitated Damon's action from before and made a daring attempt to cross from her balcony to his.

A tiny voice in her head screamed with protest;

' What the hell are you doing…now you're just as crazy as he is. You'll fall flat and die with laundry in your hands…

Tomorrow's paper reads: GIRL COMMITED SUICIDE FROM LAUNDRY FRUSTRATIONS… DETERGENT COMPANY TO BLAME!'

No!

She was driven to pay back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Jaime? Jemima? Ja….Jamaica? No of course not 'Jamaica''

'Who names their daughters Jamaica? Jurassic Park was more likely than Jamaica!'

'Jessica!'

'Yes…she's Jessica' Damon finally remembered her name.

'She was a pretty little thing, with plenty of curves in the right places' Damon thought as he nuzzled her neck in the elevator. She wasn't exactly hard to seduce and that was mostly due to his good looks and charms.

He hadn't the slightest idea what they talked about on their date, something along the line of 'modeling part time…night school…cats named Lewis, Roxanne and Mr. Fur Balls…loved walks in the park…'

Whatever!

All that mattered was that it had gotten them here, on the way to his apartment. The pair fumbled drunkenly in the hall way and it took him longer than usual to slot the key into the lock.

It was difficult to concentrate when his date kept nibbling on his ear lobe.

When they entered the pitch black living room, Damon struggled to find the light switch. "Make yourself comfortable…I'll get us some drinks" He managed to find his way to the kitchen and switch on the lights.

With two bottles of coke in hand, he excitedly went back to the living room, expecting a sprawled and ready Jessica but instead she came at him like a train full of steam.

"You womanizing liar…good for nothing…ass hole…" she swatted him angrily with her petite little handbag that was surprisingly lethal; smacking again and again on his shoulders before storming out the door.

Damon was left standing there mortified and puzzled.

It didn't take long for him to figure out what had gotten into Jessica when he saw what hung at his clothe line.

"ELENA!" he snatched girly clothes off the line, cursing as he goes.

"You called?" she appeared at her balcony, with an obvious victory smirk on her face. If she had a flag, she'd waved it right then, just so the world knew she won a battle.

Her flag will have Damon's face on it with a big red cross over it, she imagined.

"What the hell is this?" he scrunched up her clothes in one hand and gritted his teeth.

"Its laundry day…" she threw his own word at him.

"My date ran off after assaulting me with her purse…"his voice strained with anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry…did I ruined your chance of getting laid tonight…"She sarcastically said.

Damon just glared at her, not impressed at all with her little stunt.

"Don't worry…you'll get over it" as if to comfort him.

There was fire in his eyes, just the way she intended but then it disappeared, replaced by an amused glint as he glanced down at her clothes in his hands.

"You know what…maybe I'll just hang on to these" he lifted up her bra and dangled it up like bait.

It caught her attention.

'Damn, why did I put that? Why does he always have to have the last say?' She swallowed her panic.

"Whatever those are not mine…" she averted her gaze. Thankfully the dark hid her reddening cheeks.

Damon just looked at her and then back to the bra, as if to make sure. When Elena realized he was mentally measuring her boobs, she quickly crossed her arms over them.

"Yes they are…" he smirked and raised an eyebrow before going back into his apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>There you go :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: posting all I have on this story...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own characters used in this story**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

"Aaargh...I can't stand him Caroline! He irritates me so much. I swear I'm losing my mind here" Elena circled her temples with her index finger, feeling her head throb.

It literally throbbed…she never hated anyone so much in her life!

She needed to purge out her frustration and decided to grab lunch with Caroline.

Apparently, Caroline found her ranting amusing; "I don't know, he seemed kind of charming last time I met him.." she sipped her fruit juice.

"That's because he was trying to get inside your pants…try living next door to him. He's anything but charming, I'll tell you that." Elena didn't realize she spoke a little too loudly and a couple of ladies turned their heads towards her table in the crowded café.

The café was packed with a diverse group of people, ranging from sharply dress businessmen to artists in shabby, paint splatter covered shirts…all on a much needed break from their busy day at work.

"It's really too bad you and Stefan didn't work out" Caroline munched on her tuna sandwich while Elena gathered her salad onto her fork.

"I know. I really like him…but he won't even return my calls." She pouted a little, staring blankly into her salad.

Elena hasn't been in a serious relationship in over 2 years, now that her career had started she could feel herself edging for progress. More than that, she actually missed affection and romance and that warm feeling that comes with having a steady relationship.

Stefan could have been 'the one', but now her chances are ruined and for once in her life, she actually feared growing old alone.

What if she'll never meet anyone else?

What if God threw Stefan into her life; "Here you go…but it's the last one I'm sending your way, okay! I'm not pulling anymore favors …I have more important things to do like…save people with cancer"

She imagined herself old and grey, alone in a TV-less living room; on a weekend night…probably with a cat…no, cats are so snobbish…a canary maybe… as her only company and call her Tweety, just like that cartoon character.

And then if she gets bored, she'll just step onto her balcony and quarrel with an old balding Damon on the neighboring balcony.

She abruptly lifted her head when her thoughts strayed ridiculously far.

She shook her head, deciding once and for all to focus all her time and energy towards work instead. It was after all, why she had taken a job offer so far from home, to work for a reputable consultation firm like Hemilton.

To be able to call home and announce her promotion or that she bought a car or even fly them around the world as a surprise vacation.

'Wow! That would be the best' She sighed and Caroline just frowned.

Mean while, several blocks away, Damon skipped his lunch break to make urgent business phone calls to companies in Europe. Klaus had been on his ass for weeks now, pressuring him to seal the six figured contract with another manufacturing company abroad.

The collaboration was the biggest of the year and they had to win the foreign company over before competitors pry in.

He had several week worth of work left…two, maybe three weeks top!

'And then maybe Klaus will shut the fuck up' he sipped his cola.

"Hey man, going to lunch? Grab some subs? Dean poked his head into Damon's office.

"No, I got a conference call in ten. It's not lunch time in Scotland…" he waved him away.

He had a good feeling about this call.

He just needed a simple 'yes' from them and they were in.

He just had to reassure them of the success the collaboration will bring…

mention 'big money' a few times…

and it's all go.

It was going to be fast,

and easy and it was…

A COMPLETE BUST!

Ten minutes into the discussion and the Brits pulled out of the deal. It was unbelievable! They talked about the project for months and suddenly they were out!

"Maybe another company got a hold of them?" Ric's fist hit the table.

"How could this happen?" Damon ran his fingers through his hair.

Damon couldn't think. His brain was as jammed up as the photocopier down stairs.

He shut his eyes and he could just hear the bashing he was going to get from Klaus.

'Ring…Ring…Ring'

Speaking of the devil!

Elena slouched in her seat, taking off her shoes under her desk and rubbing her heel. Her neck was strained, her head throbbing, and her back was killing her. She had a feeling that living in the city and working her butt off was going to age her fast.

'_No! I don't want to grow old…not yet._' She protest but her body said otherwise.

She just got out of a meeting where she had to take notes for Elijah. It turns out there wasn't enough chairs and apparently no one was a gentlemen enough to give a lady their seat so she ended up standing the whole hour.

It was hard labor…something the job ad failed to mention. Now she knew what shop assistants felt like! Standing there for hours;

She promised to be nice to them the next time she goes shopping. She would even put back stuff she tried on that she didn't buy and won't jumble up the hangers on the clothes rack ever again.

Elena had half an hour before another meeting and decided to make a quick call.

"Hello…" a soothing voice came after a few beeps.

"Bonnie…Hi, it's me…" Elena lowered her voice, looking around to make sure it was all clear.

"Hey…How are you? Where are you calling from?"

"I'm at the office…I'm totally beat today…ask again tomorrow, maybe you'll get a better answer. How's everyone?" she ducked her head a little when Christie walked by.

"Everyone's fine, nothing new here. How about you?"

'_Should I tell her about Damon? But I already said everything to Caroline…repeating is tiring. Plus, he's not worth mentioning anyway'_

"Nope, nothing…it's been a slow week and work has been piling up." She said at last.

"You sound miserable…"

'_and a huge factor to that is because I live next to the mad-hatter'_

"Yes…I am but please don't tell my mother. Tell her I'm happy…so happy in fact that I smile in my sleep…" she doodled in her note pad, making swiggly lines around her name and fire patterns around the words 'HATE DAMON!'

Bonnie was silent.

"What is it?" Elena wondered

"Okay, I'm not supposed to tell you this but since you need some cheering up. Your mother will fly up to see you…" Bonnie squealed

"Really? When?"

"In 2 weeks…give or take. She's still planning but she's definitely coming."

Elena's spirit lifted and she ended the call. She was so excited to see Miranda and quickly started a list of things to do;

_~Buy furniture and decorate house_

_~…_

And then she realized that was it! That was all the preparation she needed.

'_Okay, shouldn't be hard…by the time she arrived it would be my second month working and I would have gotten her pay check'_ Elena chewed on her end of her pencil.

* * *

><p><strong>There you go :)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Posting all I have on this story even though it's terrible because I've written so much of it already**

**Disclaimer: I do not own characters used in this story**

* * *

><p>Chapter6<p>

'_Bleach his clothes while in the washing machine'_

'_Put ketchup in his mail box'_

'_Release rats in his apartment (or hamsters…since rats are seldom sold in pet shops and are totally nasty)_

All of Caroline's ideas are so tempting but Elena needed something big…something with more punch…

She entered the building and checked her mail box.

Nothing!

"Hey Elsa…" she greeted an old lady. This was great; she was starting to get to know people in the building. She was slowly fitting in.

"Oh hello, Rachael. How's Robert…"

She was so old; Elena didn't have the heart to correct her.

"Fine, just fine…" and entered the elevator.

'_Oh well, being Rachael was not so bad, at least she has Robert'_ she sighed. She felt her neck a little strained from staring at the computer for so long. It was a long day at work.

She had hours and hours of meeting added by pages and pages of writing. Usually, she would perk herself up with some self motivation but she just didn't have it in her today.

She was about to enter her house when she noticed Damon's doors were ajar. It was weird because he would come back much later than her.

_Maybe it was him…_

_But why didn't he close the door…_

Elena crept to his doorway and pushed the door open slowly.

_Maybe it's a burglar… _

_Oh no, I don't have anything to defend myself with…_

_I did 'take taekwondo' once…but it was such a long time ago…the only move I remember is bowing…_

_Maybe in the face of danger, my taekwondo skills will pop up again…_

Elena grew nervous, her heart started to race and her knees started wobbling. She held up her hands in front of her face like a boxer ready to pounce and took a step into the apartment;

Weee…wooo….weee…wooo…weee…wooo

'_Oh shit, it's an alarm. How do I switch it off?'_

Elena started grabbing the wall, looking for a switch. She found a small switch near the door and started flicking it on and off.

'_It's not working! Why does Damon's apartment have alarm and mine doesn't? Oh shit, oh shit…' _

And then the noise stopped. She looked around nervously.

"Elena? What the hell are you doing?" Damon looked at her like she just turned into a fish.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry. Your door was open… I thought there was a burglar…Your alarm went off…"

Damon just tilted his head, throwing a puzzled look at her

"Actually I think that was just a car alarm from the street …" he looked at her like she was completely bonkers then he turned serious. "And stop flickering my lights on and off….it's giving me a head ache"

Elena was about to laugh at herself too but then she was so mortified. She felt really stupid.

Damon walked back to his living room and sat on the couch, leaving her alone at the door way. He didn't ask her to leave so…

She nonchalantly strolled into his house, curiously inspecting every detail. Like all bachelor pads…it was DISGUSTING.

Okay she was exaggerating. Damon's house was actually kind of charming and neat. A tall book shelf was plastered against the wall; she really thought that was a picture wall paper but No!

It was an actual book shelf with actual books in it. '_Wow Damon reads…a lot'_

The living room had a couch, an armchair, a carpet, a table, a lamp. _'And they all matched!'_

She had been in his apartment once before but she was too distracted to really look around. And now she suddenly felt embarrassed by her ugly, shabby, empty apartment.

Elena saw Damon sitting with a remote in his hand, staring blankly at the TV.

She casually plopped herself next to him; "So what are we watching?" and then she blinked in shock.

The TV was not even switched on.

But Damon stared at it anyways, chugging his beer once in a while.

"Damon…why don't you press the 'on' button?"

"No, I like this channel…" he looked depress.

'_Okay, its official! He is losing it! How do you report a crazy person? Call the hospital…maybe an ambulance…' _Elena thought.

But then she glanced at him again…

He really looked miserable, really crushed, really disappointed. A soft spot in her heart melted into goo.

"Is….something wrong?"

There was silence…followed by a huge sigh.

"I blew a big deal at work. It was a disaster and my boss went beserk!" he took another swig of beer.

"Did you get fired?"

"Nope…maybe tomorrow, or the day after that, or next week…probably after thanks giving…"

Poor Damon, he was so stressed out. Suddenly Elena's neck felt less painful and her back didn't ached anymore. A burst of energy exploded in her and she had a mission to help another human being.

"Okay, lets' go…" Elena stood up but Damon just raised an eyebrow. "It's Wednesday…we're going to the movie premier…c'mon let's move it"

"You're not going with that guy?" he looked up at her.

"No, Stefan's not coming and I don't want to waste these tickets" She started digging her bag for her phone to call a cab. But Damon sat back into his lazy-couch potato position.

"Come on…it starts in an hour. We have to move now…"

"But then I have to put shoes on…" he made it sound equally challenging as climbing mount Everest.

"Oh just come on, you will feel so much better…trust me" she yanked his arm and dragged him out the door.

Damon and Elena took the cab to the movies; they didn't have to stay in line for too long before entering. Equipped with pop corn, hot dogs, chocolate bars and coke, it was dinner and movie rolled into one.

They watched in silent as a typical action movie played on;

_A cool, hot shot FBI agent on the right side of the law_

_Then he got set up by people which suddenly made him the bad guy and the most wanted guy in the country_

_Bang…bang…explosions…explosions_

_Jumped off a building_

_Jumped off a helicopter_

_Jumped off a bridge_

_And then he ran out of things to jump off from…so he met a girl…_

"I honestly won't be bothered about a girl when I should be clearing my name…"Elena whispered.

"Me too…"Damon sipped his drink but his eyes still glued to the screen.

"At least the guy is hot…" she added at the scene where the actor was fighting shirtless (so predictable!)

"No he's not! Look at him…his abs are 100% special effects…" he whispered back, completely appalled

Damon was having a good time though, regardless of how typical the movie was, he was glad he went out. An hour and thirty minutes later the movie ended.

They strolled down the street, chatting away about the awful but still entertaining movie. Surprisingly, there was no awkwardness what so ever. No pressure, no expectations, no weird vibes…

They just talked like old friends and sometimes laughed so hard that passerby's look on like they were drunk or something.

"I hope that's not how guys really think they can get girls…"

"Oh baby, check out my guns and how I can skillfully drift my car onto a moving boat" She copied the actor's voice.

Damon laughed; "No! It's the macho- testosterone- filled actions that are really cool. It was like; pow…pow…bam…never a dull moment in an action movie"

"Whatever…" Elena rolled her eyes and then pointed to a gelato shop across the street. Without much protest, Damon followed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What do you do anyway?" Elena asked as they sat at a table outside the shop.

"I work for a manufacturing company called …as a project manager. You?" Damon took a spoon full of his chocolate flavored gelato.

'_What is this and why I never tasted this before?_' his tongue shouted.

"I'm just an assistant, at Hemilton Consultancy…" she eyed his gelato.

'_Damn why did I chose mango? The chocolate one looks so much better…' _

Damon saw where her eyes went and took another spoon full. "emmmm…this is food for gods" then he saw her gulp. Her big brown doe eyes widen.

He laughed _'She is too cute…_'

Elena realized she was practically drooling and now Damon was laughing at her. She quickly snapped out of it.

'_STOP IT! Mango is perfectly fine…it's just as good as the chocolate one…better in fact. I just need to swirl it in my mouth longer to release the flavor'_

"So what are you going to do about that deal you lost?" she cleared her throat.

Damon was surprised that she had taken interest on his job and actually cared. It was nice to discuss it; he needed to put things in perspective anyways.

He planned words in his head for a moment.

"I'll just have to replace it with another…"

"You should try some companies in Amsterdam. They're really eager to work with American manufacturing…"

"Really?" he put down his plastic cup and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, I see it in the stats every day at work…"

They chatted and later hailed a cab back to their apartments. By that time, the pain in Elena's neck came back and a huge head ache followed. She felt like her eyeballs were popping out of her head.

She needed sleep. Her bed was practically calling her as she and Damon parted in the hall way.

"Oh and Elena…thanks." He gave a sincere, honest to god smile. She smiled back and entered her house to collapse on the couch.

* * *

><p><strong>There you go :)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Posting all I have on this story even though it's terrible because I've written so much of it already**

**Disclaimer: I do not own characters used in this story**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

"…..and then, I said; 'you better put those back or I will call animal rescue!'" Dean explained to Ric near the coffee machine. "…and that's how I saved 300 bucks from buying that really cool stereo set"

Ric just looked at him and nodded slowly. "Wonder if I should try that…"

"Morning fellas'…" Damon joined him. He overheard their conversation. It made absolutely no sense at all but Ric and Dean somehow understood each other.

"So…did Klaus chewed you up and spit you out?" Ric landed a concern hand on Damon's shoulder.

"No! He doesn't have too…"he sipped his coffee. "…because I have a plan"

"What are you up to?" Dean asked without looking and instead scrolled down his Iphone screen.

"I'm gonna replace the contract with a brand spankin' new one…" both Ric and Dean looked up.

"On such short notice?" Ric raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me man, I got it covered…"Damon said smugly and dumped his paper cup in the bin. He was pumped up about the new contract and the information Elena had given was SO helpful.

If he lands this deal to replace the old one, they will have no choice but to promote him.

"I'm gonna show Klaus I could reel in a bigger corporation than some small Scottish company…I got information that…."

"HAHAHAHA… oh jeez…Ric! You gotta check this out"

He was cut off by Dean's sudden laughter. He showed Ric his phone and they both burst out laughing

"Oh man, I can't believe Joel finally skied down the slopes…and just in time for the wedding!" Ric was tearing up with laughter.

Damon was lost; _'Who's Joel? Why is he skiing to a wedding?'_

'_Again…they made absolutely no sense at all. It was like Dean and Ric had a whole different language'_

He just shook his head and turned to leave

'_Doesn't matter…I got work to do!' _Damon headed for his office and started typing away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elena took the days off that Friday to spring clean and decorate her house. Miranda was arriving Saturday. She bought a small coffee table and some fresh flowers to put on it.

'_This should look great by the wall…'_ she repositioned the table for the hundredth time and then stepped back to inspect how it looked.

She saw a disgusting patch on the opposite wall and she moved the couch to cover it, so was the coffee table …but then anybody sitting on the couch will get the ugly view of her kitchen instead of the balcony so she moved it again…suddenly she noticed a really gruesome stain on the carpet so she had to turn it around…which meant she had had to lift both the couch and table off the carpet first…..

"ARGGGHHHH….this isn't working!" Elena fell on the couch.

No matter how much time she spent rearranging the living room, it still looked like…well, like crap. And she hasn't even started on the bedroom yet.

Her mother said she will be spending the night which she had no clue how since there was only one room with a single bed.

Maybe she should make reservations at a nearby hotel.

'_This is just great! My first impression a complete disaster'_ She grunted.

She wanted to show her mother that she was doing great on her own, that she had a nice apartment. But all she had was a seriously fugly, empty apartment to show off. Okay, she had been busy and maybe neglected her house. But she didn't expect Miranda to come visit so soon.

'Okay think…think!" she started pacing back and forth.

And then a Eureka moment!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Damon barely sat his ass down when a gentle knock came at his door.

"Hiya, neighbor!" Elena was smiling from ear to ear but Damon just raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Hi…"he stepped aside and she entered, making sure her happy face was still on.

"Anything I can help you with?" he strode back to his chair and took off his tie. It was a tough day at work. He'd been contacting tons of people and sat through hours of meeting.

Seeing her face sort of…cheered him up a little and he had no idea why.

He studied Elena who was pretending to go through his books.

'_hmmm…very odd' _Damon sat back in his chair, his earlier question forgotten.

Then she started to leisurely count his fridge magnets.

'_Strange…_' he narrowed his eyes.

But when she started to hover around his trash bin, almost as if to inspect it…

"Okay Elena…quit stalling. What is it?" he snapped.

Elena nervously walked to him and position herself behind a chair opposite him. What she was about to ask was so embarrassing that she was planning to duck behind the chair if it all goes wrong.

"I need a favor…"

'_Favor? Like sexual favor maybe…guess all those nights alone must have gotten to her after all. Guess she finally learnt that shoes can never replace human company…' _

"Ahhhh…what kind of favor?" he was giving her a naughty grin.

His thoughts must have came up in a huge bubble above his head because Elena could read them; "Wipe that stupid grin off your face…not that kind of favors…"

"My mother is coming and I'm too ashamed of my own apartment….so….I want to borrow yours for one day" her face scrunched up in a 'God-I'm-such-a-terrible-person' expression.

Damon looked at her with confusion; "'Borrow'….my….apartment?"

"Yes…I mean, yours look so much better than mine. And you have television and book shelves and tables and lamps…." She jutted out her lower lip. "And mine only have ugly patches and cracks…"

She couldn't go on…it was too self degrading.

"I donno Elena, that's kind of a big deal…" he fought back a smile.

"No it's not. It's just for a day…you could go out for a couple of hours….or….hang out at my house."

"No way! And do what? Talk to your ugly patches and cracks?" he wanted to milk this bargain but Elena was getting annoyed.

"Just give her the address to Ikea…they have plenty to offer…bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms. Have a cup of tea with her in one of the show room…" he said. "Just tell her; don't expect any home cooked meal…and don't use the toilet…"

She was seriously considering kicking him if she wasn't so desperate

"Look, I just want to convince my mom that I'm doing fine…"she recovered from self pity and stood up straighter.

Her words echoed his own on how he wanted to convince his father too. Damon understood the pressure of wanting to make your parents proud and Elena wanted the same thing.

It made sense especially when Elena just arrived not more than 3 month ago and already her mother was coming.

'_No doubt she hadn't figured things out completely…and her house was a dump.'_

His earlier plans to make her beg simply drained away. He thought about it for a moment and Elena saw his hesitation…

"Damon please…please. I'll make it up to you…"she rushed to sit on the couch next to him and leaned over with her hands clasped together. "I'll let you borrow anything you want…food…pots…pans…and any random stuff you always ask for"

"I donno Elena…I got private things in my room…"he scratched his face.

'_like porn?'_ Elena automatically thought and Damon read her expression right away

"NO! It's not what you think…God you have a dirty mind"

'…_Which is not always a bad thing in certain situations…'_ he added

"That's ok…I'll just be needing the living room and the kitchen. My mom will stay at the hotel 5 blocks away…"

'_Well, I guess that's fine…and it's just one day….and I owe her one for the movie…we're sort of friends now anyway…' _He deliberated and then….

Elena leaned in more with her lower lip jutted out and her eyes as big as tennis balls. She looked like a begging puppy.

"…_but a kind of sexy, cuddly, lush lipped….puppy' _a sudden shot of lust ran through his system and Damon's eyes darken unexpectedly.

Elena saw it and quickly backed away…leaning into the couch.

Damon abruptly cleared his throat.

"Okay fine…but everything must stay exactly the way it is…and just for one day…and…"

Elena held in her breath as Damon wanted to add another condition. His eyes had a real threatening spark in them.

"You owe me…." He smirked meaningfully.

'_Oh God…Whatever that could mean…I'm about to make a deal with the devil…_' Elena gulped and then breathed out a quick;

"Okay…"

* * *

><p><strong>There you go:)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Story Revival! I finally got my MOJO back for this story (simultaneously while working on another story). I did a lot of practice and I think I improved my writing a little bit. I'm so excited...hope you are too**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story**

Elena carried the 12 by 15 inch cardboard box all over Damon's house, and stopped in front of his bookshelf. She scanned through the wide range of titles; from the outright professional like 'Effective Decision Making In Marketing' to the most ridiculous/perverted ones.

"Pornogami? Seriously Damon?" She intended to stab his cocky face with her judgmental stare but he just shrugged at her. "Oh yeah, I forgot I had that…" she watched him go through the colorful pages and laughed like an idiot. If parents weren't careful, they'll mistake it as a real origami book for sure, and end up as some poor kid's birthday present; a guaranteed scarred childhood. Elena bet on her entire shoe collection, that that was what had happened to Damon's childhood. Either that or he hit his head really hard on the pavement during his first bicycle lesson.

"Arghh…making boobs were the hardest one…had to use at least three pieces of paper. " Damon flipped through the book before Elena snatched it and threw it into the 'no' pile. "My mother will never believe I read all this…" she bit her lips and started to remove some books from the shelves and into the box. She was never interested in books her entire life and to see a whole wall of it in her apartment, her mother will know something's wrong, right off the bat.

"What are you doing? I told you everything should stay exactly the way it is" a very paranoid Damon followed her around all morning and helplessly watched as she made 'adjustments' to his apartment. "I have to make it believable Damon…!" she nearly kicked him when he put back the books in its original spot.

"I let you put pink rugs and pink shower curtains and that's as far as it goes…" Damon confiscated the box full of his 'treasures' but to Elena; were a 'pile of shit'; as labeled in the front. "What about that stupid rock band poster? And the dart board behind the door? " she protested.

"Hey! I'm saint for even doing this for you. You should be thanking me right now…" Damon stomped around his living room and picked up small fluffy teddy bears Elena scattered all over his house like some kind of spreading influenza that made his apartment looked like it had chicken pox. "Unacceptable…" he chucked them into the box. Elena threw her hands up and fell on the couch. They have been at it since the early morning and Damon was being impossible. Exhausted and frustrated, Elena did not have the energy to fight anymore. She just grunted and rolled her eyes and grunted some more and then did the combination of the two with only the whites of her eyes showing while she grunted; which frankly, spooked him a little bit.

"Okay, you're obviously in the process of morphing into a zombie and that's cool but before you do that…let me set some rules…" This could be Damon's final words before she could finally get him off her back so Elena sat up straighter. "No one…I mean NO one can enter my room! It's off limits."

"Fine. What else?"

"You can use the kitchen but DO NOT attempt to cook.

You can use the toilet but DO NOT take a dump.

You can use the TV but DO NOT use the remote.."

"This is ridiculous! Damon!" she exploded. Any more of this and Elena's head would seriously combust. She shoved him out his own apartment, really regretting her decision to borrow it. She might as well use the janitor's closet downstairs and have better luck and less constricting rules. "My mother will be here in an hour..." her voice raspy from screaming at Damon too much.

It took a while but he finally disappeared into the elevator and left the building. "Peace at last!" she mumbled to herself before she tied her hair up in a casual bun and left to pick up her mom from the airport.

"Yo, Rick open up!" Damon shouted through the intercom and Rick's voice came after in a blurry robot tone "Come on up"

Damon loved coming over to Rick's. There were always some pretty-young-things hanging out in the foyer and that day was no exception. A few Amy Winehouse look-a-likes were chatting by the staircase. Their faces were made up like they went to a rave party the night before and slept in it but hey, they were friendly. "Hai-ya handsome, wanna come in for some drinks?" a brunette in white tank top slurred, batting her… no doubt… 'false' eyelashes at him. Before Damon could practice some pick up lines he'd been dying to try, Rick's head popped out of the 5th floor foyer ,"Don't even think about it, man! Get up here!"

'Oh good ol' Rick! Ever the cockblocker!' a tiny voice popped up in Damon's head.

"Trust me Damon, you'll thank me later…" Rick kicked the door close behind him and handed Damon a bottle of beer. "…you do not want to be up in those nasties…" and in the true image of masculinity, Rick cringed and flopped back onto his sofa, chugged down his beer and scratched his balls. "Nice!" Damon cautiously avoided the empty seat next to Rick. "Thanks for testing out the water for me Rick…I'll be sure to stay clear of 'nasties' from now on"

"So what are you doing here anyway? No plans on a Saturday…that's weird!"

"Nope. Just thought I hang out here for a couple of hours. Elena's using my place"

"Woah Woah Woah…whose Elena?" Rick's super imagination abilities instantly pictured the name Elena attached to a very hot booty and his face lit up like a Christmas tree in Rockefeller center, leaning towards Damon with his brows wiggling.

"No it's not like that. She's my neighbor and she's at my apart…"

"Oh wow, I didn't see that one coming. It's a little complicated with the neighbors…if you know what I mean?" he winked and pointed downstairs towards plenty of his horny neighbors. "…you can avoid them all you want but the downside is that they always know where you live, which really suck"

"Stop talking Rick…"Damon gave up on explaining and focused on the TV screen but Rick won't drop the subject. "So how'd you reeled her in? Do the 'shirtless-sexy-neighbor routine', turn up on her door step for some sugar or coffee? Or was it the 'I got locked out of my apartment' thing?"

"Actually, I did turn up on her door step shirtless…and pantless." Damon thought hard while Rick gave him the thumbs up as if he was truly proud of his apprentice.

"I asked to borrow sugar, coffee, cereal, frying pan, soap, and everything else you can imagine. And I did get locked out of my apartment that one time…"

"Alright!" Rick moved in for a high-five.

"…but I still haven't gotten into her pants!" Damon blurted which caused Rick's high lifted hand to swerve and face palmed himself.

"What? It always worked for me. Why the hell didn't it work?"

"Oh I don't know…cause I don't want to!" Damon glared at his friend who just looked at him speechless for about a millisecond. "Bullshit. We all know Damon Salvatore won't deny any pants their right to be entered! Especially one belonging to neighbor Elena…" By that time, Damon was a little buzzed and Rick's sing-a-song voice was annoying him. "Look she's easy on the eyes but man, she drives me nuts"

"So? All you have to do is make her shut up and it's a go…" Rick nudged Damon on the arm. "Thanks for the advice, dick!" He wondered if Rick had a split personality because he definitely never seen this side of him before. This side of Rick that scratched balls and possibly suggest him to duck tape a girl's mouth during sex. Date rape anyone?

"No problemo, I'm here for ya buddy…" it was not until he missed his lips by a few centimeters when he brought the bottle up to his face and dripped beer all over the front of his shirt, that Damon realized his friend was totally drunk.

Meanwhile, Elena checked her mother into a hotel room a few blocks away from her apartment building and then took her around the city for lunch and a little sightseeing. She was excited to show Miranda around. Being around her made Elena felt like a local and as if she had lived there all her life. Even if she messed up the street names or gave the wrong directions to the cab driver, her mom can't even tell. But as the tour was nearing the end and she couldn't think of another street food stall to distract Miranda with or another trash can to introduce her mother too, Elena had to face the inevitable; Damon's apartment to pass as her own.

She hoped that since it was their last stop, Miranda will be too tired to catch suspicious details in the apartment. Elena was so nervous and tried hard to act as natural as possible but strangely, her lips twitched every time she said the word 'mom' and 'apartment'. She guessed that if she said the word 'liar' her whole face would vibrate. "Here we are!" she flung the door open and switched on the lights to Damon's apartment. Miranda looked pretty impressed upon seeing the fully furnished home, complete with everything. She sat on the couch while Elena went straight for the kitchen. "Would you like some tea mom?"

"That would be nice. Thanks…"

Trying to find a tea cup took her forever but luckily tea bags and sugar was not hard to find. Then she wondered if boiling water in the electric kettle was considered cooking because she didn't want to break Damon's no-cook rule. After a few minutes of battling with her guilty conscience, she decided to serve her mom some orange juice instead. "Honey, I really like what you've done to the place. It's homey and comfortable…I'm so relieved that you've settled down nicely here." Miranda looked around her while Elena just smiled.

_'Oh thank God!'_ She thought. _'What am I so happy about? Being a liar? Well at least mom is impressed…with Damon's interior decorating skills, not mine!' _ her insides screamed. _' Oh whatever! In just 12 months and 13 days, I'll have enough money to live in a home like this, or even better!'_ she kept optimistic about her expected promotion but her happiness was short lived the moment Miranda pointed to a picture on the side table. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Elena's eyes opened up so big, her eyebrows almost reached her hair line. "I…umm…" she mumbled hopelessly as her mother took the picture frame in her hand. _'That asshole!'_ her mind was jammed and stared unblinkingly at Damon flexing his biceps in the photo. "No of course not mom…that's my…aah… neighbor. We're not together." she grabbed the picture frame at the speed of light and tossed it under the couch; secretly wishing it would miraculously set on fire. "Well I can't imagine why. He's very good looking…" Miranda giggled and Elena forced herself to join in but her lips were too tight and she ended up with a high-pitched-snort-laughter similar to an African hyena, she vowed to NEVER exit her mouth ever again.

"Bonnie and Jeremy and uncle John…everyone misses you. We all wanted to pay a visit but I told them 'Elena is still adjusting', plus they got school and work…"

"Mom, you could've visited me during the holidays so they all could come here." Elena's mind played out how 1000 times worst this situation would be if her whole family dropped by not hers, but her crazy neighbor's apartment. "Oh I'm sorry sweetheart, I was just excited. I won't randomly drop by next time, I promise." They chatted away for what seemed like hours. It was great to catch up with Miranda, it was a cure to all things related to home sickness and Elena was just thrilled to be spending time with her mother.

Damon took a cab back to the apartment. According to their arrangement, Elena should be done by now. He dragged his feet towards his unit only to hear voices inside. "Dammit Elena!" he cursed and then reluctantly pulled out the extra keys to her apartment from his jean's pocket. He hated waiting around in her empty apartment; it was like a prison cell. He'd never been to prison of course but watched enough 'Prison Break's to give him a life time worth of prison know how. So he jumped at the first sign of footsteps at the door way. "Finally…" he opened the door to a very stunned face and leaves up his nose. At the same time, Elena and her mother came out of the opposite apartment; curiously staring at a man handing another man a bouquet of flowers.

"Isn't that your neighbor, dear? How sweet…those are lovely carnations" Miranda was the only one with the ability to produce words as Stefan held the bouquet idly in Damon's face; glancing back and forth from Elena's apartment to Damon's, wondering if he had gotten the location wrong. Elena's shoulders shook as she tried hard not to laugh and escorted Miranda downstairs. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Gilbert…" was all Damon managed to shout out behind them before pushing the carnations away from his nostrils, "Get that out of my face!"

"That explains why you're not dating your neighbor…oh well, they are a cute couple" Miranda climbed in the taxi. "Yes, I think so too…" Elena finally broke out in laughter. Miranda hugged and kissed Elena goodnight. Her visit was short but it was all she'd hoped for, to see her daughter well, successful and surviving on her own. She flew back to Mystic Falls the next day and shared her stories with all the other curious family member, some rooting for Elena's wellbeing and some hoping she'd fall flat on her face.

As Elena waved her mother goodbye with teary eyes, she suddenly remembered something…or someone "Stefan!" her head screamed. He was there to see her and those flowers were for her which meant he must have received all her missed calls and messages (35 missed calls and 25 messages to be exact) and she was a call short of a stalker. She just hoped he was still there when she ran back upstairs. Confused by both the apartments, Stefan decided to play safe and stood in the corridor instead. "Stefan, hi…" she awkwardly greeted him. "…that was my mom"

"Yeah I know. Damon told me. These are for you" he shyly handed her the bouquet of pinkish carnations. "They're beautiful, thanks…" she was about to say something until Damon strode by from her apartment to his, with a box of his things that he can't wait to put back in place. "Let's talk in my apartment" she ushered him to her 'real' apartment and slammed the door shut when Damon peeked at her and smugly said "You're welcome…"

"I think I owe you an explanation, a few actually…" she sat next to Stefan on her sofa. "Last time you were here, there was a half naked man emerging from my apartment. And today that same man, which we will refer to him as 'douche-bag Damon' from now on, was at my apartment and I was in his…"

"Actually, you pretty much cleared up everything in all your messages Elena." Stefan took her hand in his. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions without giving you a chance to explain. I feel like we really connected last time and I'd hate to see chemistry go to waste. It hard to find anyone special in this big city and I really think you're special, Elena" Stefan's confessions were so heartfelt and sincere, she could see right through them like a glass vase. '_Mental note: Ask Damon if he has a glass vase she could borrow to put her carnation in' _

After searching her eyes, he finally said "Would you like to go on our second date?" Her heart just melted at his words. He was a true gentleman, a real romantic and yes, she knew they had chemistry. It was not all in her delusional mind, they really did hit it off and would have probably kissed at the end of their date if it weren't for douche-bag Damon. "Yes…" she simply answered and threw her arms around Stefan's neck.

**A/N: sorry for taking so long to update this but What do you think?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey I just remembered this story is rated T. Sorry for some curses in this chapter (not sure what I'm allowed to write because I'm so used to writing M rated stories) Anyways...enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story.**

She snuggled closer next to him. The heat from her body spread through him and it felt amazing. Damon opened up his groggy eyes to see her flawless face upturned to him; waiting, expecting. Their faces so close together, their bodies plastered to each other and soon she kissed him. He tasted her and then couldn't get enough. He wrapped his arms around her naked body, not sure how she ended up naked in the first place. But the way she was kissing him, Damon couldn't care less. Her body was perfection, her moans were his music and her scent filled his head. Damon's hands moved down the curve of her back and she arched to him. "Oh fuck…" his tongue dug deep into her mouth where she eagerly took it and Damon's whole body froze.

It was a full on passionate make out session and if she did another 360 grind with that hip against him, things are really gonna get out of control. "Oh Damon…" she softly whispered.

"Oh Damon…"

"OH Damon…"

"OH DAMon…"

"OH DAMON…"

"DAMON!" she screamed so loud, Damon's body jerked off the mattress and his head did a bounce back with the floor. "Open the door!" the knocking was obnoxious and loud enough to give a man a stroke.

"What the hell?" he rubbed his sore head and swung his bedroom door open. "What?"

She was silent for a while at the sight of his bed hair and boxers; gulped and continued "I left my purse in your apartment, have you seen it?" her business like voice had no mercy on his banging headache. Damon was forced to peek at her with one eye and saw that she was all dressed up and ready to go. "No I haven't seen your purse! How did you get in here anyways?" his brain started processing information at the rate of a dying turtle. "I still have the keys you gave me…"Apparently, he had momentary amnesia of the apartment-swapping-events that took place less than 24 hours ago.

She searched around the living room for her purple Balenciaga knockoff, tossing things around and made like a tornado. Still dazed and confused, a cushion thrown right smack in his face slapped Damon to full consciousness. "Stop…Stop…Stop" he shouted.

"Elena…stop your hurricane and sit down...I'll find your god damn purse without you destroying my house… thank you very much" Damon pulled on a t-shirt and watched as Elena reluctantly sat on the couch.

The more time she spent with him, she realized how OCD he was about his apartment; always wanted everything to be in perfect order and applied these impossibly constricting rules. Yup, he definitely had the symptoms. Who would have thought DBD (douche bag Damon) was a neat freak. Elena wondered how did his ex; that Andie girl even stayed here long enough without eventually checking herself into an asylum. Unless Damon's house was the asylum…because that would make much more sense.

1% annoyed and 99% pissed off, Damon hissed; "Firstly, you just interrupted a really good…no…a really awesome dream I was having in there…" What a lame reason to be lectured right now; Elena thought, especially when she was already late for her second date with Stefan. Judging by how frustrated he looked, it was obvious what he was dreaming about; gross guy dreams. She just crossed her arms "Boo hoo, there goes Damon's bimbo dream girl…"

"Hey, I was pretty sure she was a classy lady, like a librarian…a mayor or something…she could even be a lady astronaut for all you know…" he started looking around the room for her purse.

"Well which was it?"

"I don't know! I could have asked her if you didn't rudely woke me up just now!" he glared at her and then pulled out Elena's purse from between the couch with a 'taa-daa' look on his face like he just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Relieved, she jumped up to take it but he quickly held it away.

"Secondly, give me back my keys so you can't invade my personal space anymore…"

"Fine, give me back MY keys so you can't invade my…LIFE…anymore" they sinisterly smirked at each other before tossing the keys in exchange.

"I gotta run. I have a real date…with a real person…in this place we call, reality." She traced an invisible rainbow with her hands in front of his face. Elena wanted…no…needed to have the last say and it made Damon really want to kick her perky ass out his apartment for all her snarky come-backs, it was too early to tolerate her.

"Yeah okay, hope you two enjoy a romantic brunch date like a couple of old folks in retirement homes…Bazinga!" he mocked a smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee and it caught Elena's attention.

She knew Damon said that to annoy her but was it really a bad idea to see Stefan for brunch. "People go on dates for brunch all the time, it's perfectly normal" she was obviously trying to convince herself. Damon knew he had gotten under her skin when she didn't seem to be in such a hurry to leave anymore. "Oh little Miss Elena… You are precious…" He ruffled up the top of her head like a toddler and landed on the couch heavily.

"You're just jealous I have a date…in fact, I noticed you haven't been on any dates for the past few weeks…" she slowly sat on the opposite chair, took out her mobile and quietly typed Stefan a text message next to her thighs so Damon couldn't see. _"Cancel brunch. See you for dinner; come pick me up at 8pm…"_

Never in a million years she'd admit Damon was right about something, even if she was held at gun point; but she can't risk her second chance with Stefan and go for a non-romantic-old-people-brunch-date. She really wanted things to work out with Stefan this time around.

"How would you know what I've been up to?" she heard him say and looked up to find his usual cocky grin and 'eye thing'. "Have you been stalking me? Instead of watching a TV you don't have, you sit watching me through the peephole every night haven't you?!"

"Wh-Whaat?" it was so ridiculous she didn't know if she should laugh or shout or break that cup of coffee with Damon's head. Her mouth gapped like a fish out of water. "Ooh that's real funny Damon…I would rather gauge my eyeballs out with a fork than voluntarily observe you every night…"

"Tsk, tsk…don't be too hasty Elena. You need those big doe eyes when I take you dancing next week…"

"Take me where now?" She wasn't sure she heard right and leaned in over the coffee table so far, she was practically body surfing on top of it.

"It's time to pay up. I lent you my apartment…you owe me…and this is me claiming it. Naturally, your response should be _'Whatever you need, master Salvatore'_" he casually said, fully confident she would say exactly that. But the only words she could think of at that moment were the bleeped out words you hear in eminem's songs.

Damon could just smell the fire burning inside her, ready to erupt like a volcano. "It's just a corporate party, free food and drinks." He wiggled his brows. Elena swallowed her protest when she heard that but her eyes signaled him to explain more. "I need to bring a lady with me so the big bosses will give me like 5 seconds of their time…" he saw her blinked a few hundred times a second, which meant Elena didn't fully understand why she needed to company him.

Damon sighed and then took a deep breath before continuing, trying to describe the situation in the best way possible. "You know when you go to a family dinner and there's the grown up's table where the good food usually was served and the adults talk about important stuff like third world country problems.. And then on the side, you have the kid's knee high table made of plastic, with plastic forks and plastic cups and instead of pot roast they serve gummy worms on paper plates…" he scooted closer to where Elena was sitting.

"Well that's how it is with these big corporate gatherings. The single guys just hang out at the bar all night and the single ladies gossiped 90% of the time in the washroom. The only people my bosses ever paid attention to were the couples, preferably involving attractive females. My theory is; the level of your attractiveness is directly proportional to the level of how many fucks they give to what I'm saying. It's the only time they can ogle at other women with their wives right next to them. But that's acceptable because she's a plus one…you get where I'm going with this?"

….

….

"Do you have any idea how stupid the words that are coming out of your mouth right now?"

Damon's excitement filled eyes died out so quickly "Look, I just want a chance to talk to them about my project. Last year I went alone and they ignored every word I said." He summarized with less enthusiasm. Elena understood the general concept and Damon's intentions were innocent if not ambitious. He obviously took his job very seriously. Using her as his bosses'-bait for attention seemed equally conniving as her using his apartment to trick her mother.

"What about Stefan? I'm not sure he'll be okay with me going out with you…" Elena leaned back.

Damon ran his hand through his raven black hair, "It's not like you guys are exclusive yet right? Why would he be mad? You're just doing me a favor…I'm sure 'Stef' will understand. All you'll be doing is smile and nod and stick next to me. Easy"

She thought deeply about this 'favor' and considered all the possible ways Damon could embarrass her. Damon being Damon, she didn't trust his deal to be easy or simple. She also didn't want people to think she was his girlfriend or anything, just a date. And then Elena realized; this time, she'll be the one setting the rules. She scanned the room for a piece of paper and grabbed a ripped envelope under the table and started to scribble away with her handy pen.

Satisfied with what she wrote, she handed Damon the envelope a few minutes later with the happiest grin he'd ever seen. Girls would normally look like that when a pair of shoes they've been eyeing all year was finally on clearance sale around thanksgiving. "What's this?"

"It's our agreement rules, on paper. That means it's legal and binding and that dotted line over there is where you put your signature"

"You think you're so smart don't cha'?" Damon ignored her overly excited voice and read through the so called 'Contract'.

_I, Damon Salvatore will adhere to all the conditions below in order for Ms. Elena Gilbert to play the part of my 'pretend date' to a strictly professional corporate dinner._

_1. Will not get drunk_

_2. Will not emotional, physically or sexually harass her_

_3. Will not admit/declare to being in a relationship with her_

_*Contract will automatically be terminated at midnight*_

Damon just raised an eyebrow at her before signing the 'contract' and Elena threw in a formal handshake for just in case she spill something on the envelope and the blank ink melt away.

**A/N: Damon still see her as adorably annoying and Elena still see him as DBD... but who knows when that will change ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello...the big night is here...and I had to split in into several chapters because it was a long night. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story.**

Elena was restless for the rest of the week; she was strangely anxious and a little excited about the upcoming dance. She can't even concentrate throughout her second date with Stefan, which really made her feel guilty. It turns out, Stefan had to go over the latest syllabus for the new semester at the university and could not stay long for their dinner anyways. Technically, it didn't count as a proper date and they agreed to have dinner again sometime next week.

Come Monday, Elena took a few minutes of free time and goggled Damon's company at work. It was a slow day at the office because Elijah didn't come in for work, so everyone on the floor became very complacent. People chatted on their phones, hanged out at the pantry and drank a hundred cups of coffee. Elena sworn she even saw the guys playing trash bin basketball with scrunched up papers in one corner.

Anyways, back to the task at hand…

She found out that the company Damon worked for was a pretty huge corporation with a few offices in different cities. Elena was even shocked to find Damon's name under 'Project Manager' in the company's official website.

_'If Damon's name is mentioned in the official website, he's probably really high up there',_ she thought as she scroll down the company's profile, doing some homework before she was expected to make conversation with some of the biggest people there.

Completely engrossed with what she was reading, Elena even took some notes down about what the company did and who was who. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool out of herself and look like a complete air head.

It also said that what she was about to attend was an annual 'formal' event. A few pictures of last year's corporate dinner popped up on the screen and Elena saw the glamorously dressed women with dashing men in tuxedoes who attended it.

And then it finally hit her…

'Oh my god! What am I going to wear?' she screamed internally while her insides churned.

Judging by the chandelier alone, it was clearly held at a 10 star hotel somewhere in the upper side of the city. She started to hyperventilate but luckily Caroline stopped by her cubicle. "OhmygodCaroline…you have to help me!" she caught Caroline's arm and desperately dangle from it.

"What? What is it?" She panicked after seeing Elena's close-to-tears expression. "I'm attending this corporate dinner but it looks more like a fairytale royalty ball and I don't have any sparkly fancy dress to wear!" she said all in one breath.

"You're attending that?" Caroline pointed to the computer screen and Elena nodded frantically. "How did you even get invited to that?" trust Caroline to make her feel all better.

"Caroline!"

"Ermmm okay. I have just the dress for you. I saw it when I was driving by the boutiques the other day and it will be perfect for you…" her chirpy self made an appearance, jumping up and down like a teenage girl on her prom night.

"What are you talking about? I can't buy a fancy dress. I'll be in debt for the rest of my life!" as if she wasn't broke enough already.

"Okay fine, come over to my place after work and we'll go through some of my old dresses; see which one suits you…"

* * *

><p>The dinner was on a Saturday night and started around 8.30pm but by 6pm, Elena was already done from her luxuriously long shower. She started painting her nails by 6.30pm, did her hair at exactly 7pm, her makeup at 7.45pm and lastly put on her beautiful dress.<p>

Caroline and she had decided on a body hugging black tube dress that was just above the knee while at the top of the dress, the collar and sleeves were made of gorgeous black lace. If the dress used to belong to Caroline then it was actually a micro mini dress.

Was she going a little over board with her efforts? Absolutely NOT!

Elena sincerely wanted to help Damon out, she did owe him one. He sounded like he was really counting on her and Elena Gilbert is one who can be counted on 100% of the time.

But mostly, she was just excited to attend a big fancy event and get all dressed up for no real reason. She also had the need to flaunt her social skills and impress people. Since moving to the city the only person she ever tested her people skills on was the Starbuck's cashier every morning when she ordered her coffee. It was not really needed in the office where her job description was practically 'the- note- taker' in meetings.

Elena gave herself another full inspection and threw on her nude pumps as the finishing touch.

Punctually, Damon came knocking at her door 8pm sharp "You ready to go?" he asked without looking at her. His bow tie was being such a jerk and no matter how many times he tied it, it just kept looking like he had a twisted pretzel under his chin.

"Argggh, why do I even have to where this thing? It's so cartoony!" he pulled and tugged at it like an idiot.

Elena just rolled her eyes. She considered letting him go at it for a couple more minutes, maybe he might strangle himself to death and she can cross 'kill Damon' off her to do list.

_'Dammit, but he has the invites…'_

"Here let me do that" she reached for his bow tie and concentrated on making it look the way it should. Damon finally looked up and then blinked a few times before his eyes popped out of his head and his jaws dropped.

"Wow…Elena, you look…Wow…" completely speechless.

There was some kind of constricting feeling in his chest and based on a health article he read, it could be a mini heart attack and he placed one hand on his chest. Okay, granted, the article was for people his father's age but still…

"I think I just had a mini heart attack…" he patted his chest in semi panic state but Elena just laughed it off. "Well that makes two scenarios of how you could die tonight…"

By the time she finished with his bow tie, Damon couldn't get his eyes off her. He thought he'd looked sharp but next to her, he looked like a crummy butler or even her driver. His eyes travelled from her shapely legs up her sexy curves and then her radiant face where her smokey eyes added more seductiveness to her looks.

_'Sure Elena is pretty but with that makeup, hair, shoes and THAT DRESS…it's like she graduated from Cutesy School and went to Hotness Academy…wait was this a bad idea? '_Damon's head won't shut itself.

Meanwhile, Elena herself couldn't deny how attractive Damon looked in a tux. It fitted his manly broad shoulders perfectly. He was presentable and handsome and she was sure his aftershave was invented to lure girls in. His whole ensemble was neat and out of character, so she was thankful he kept his messy-sort-of-sexy hair style that was more like him.

Once Damon snapped out of his monologue, he found her staring at him smugly "You can finish your sentence now. 'Wow…Elena, you look…wow….aaaand?'" she annoyingly fished for compliments.

"C'mon we're gonna be late" he glared and tugged her towards the elevator.

They took his car to the hotel and arrived just in time and walked in with her hand looped around his. Elena went into a state of trance the moment she stepped inside. The hotel lobby was huge with giant gold, ceiling to floor pillars. Instantly, she looked up.

There was a massive crystal chandelier hanging in the middle and the lobby desks were decorated with dark wood which matched all the other furniture in the lounging/waiting areas. Soft orchestral music was playing in the back ground and even their footsteps echoed in the large space. She tried not to stumble while enjoying the scenery and let Damon steered her.

They took the lavishly decorated elevator to the 15th floor; it was a long climb so Damon turned to Elena as if to huddle up. "Okay the plan is, I will work down the hierarchy level."

"Isn't that a little over ambitious Damon?"

"No! I do this every year but usually I start from the bottom. But since I have you…we'll switch it up a bit." He straightened up his tux. "So the first person we'll find would be the CEO…"

"You mean Mr. Frederick who has the bushy moustache and his wife Martha with the bushy eyebrows?" she whispered.

Damon just stared at her in amazement and held her shoulders tight, wondering; did she really work hard to learn everything about his company? Was she into this plan as much as he was? Could it be he has a real shot at impressing his bosses this year?

Silence…

"You can't really see it Elena…" he looked at her earnestly "...but I'm really proud of you right now…"

And then they both burst out laughing before the elevator doors opened.

The hall way leading towards the ballroom was already filled with beautiful looking guests. Everyone was engaged in polite conversations and well mannered laughter, not at all like the one Damon and Elena had in the elevator.

She quickly corrected her posture and let Damon lead her through the crowd, his eyes scanning wildly like an eagle. They made their way to a long table where wine was served and he passed her a glass.

It took him a while before he realized the numerous pair of eyes looking at them, well at Elena really. She was a show stopper, a dazzling sight and Damon felt really proud to be seen with her. Elena however, just smiled nervously and pressed her side closer to Damon partly because although the gents looked at her in admiration, their wives/girlfriends looked like they wanted to scratch her face off.

"Damon!" a round old man with white hair came at them with his dainty wife at hand. "Carl…" Damon accepted his handshake. Carl was a harmless manager who served the company longer than his superiors. He was an honest, old styled guy who unfortunately gets bullied once in a while by Klaus. But who hasn't, Damon thought.

"This is my wife, Lindsay." He introduced. Damon and Elena shook her hand.

"Lindsay, this is Damon, the guy I've been telling you about. He got really great potential. When he gets promoted eventually, I'll finally get that raise…" he nudged Damon in the arm and gave a hearty laugh.

"Oh, Carl, this is Elena…my…arhhh…" he stopped to think and suddenly the 3rd condition of the 'contract' he signed popped up in his mind. He didn't want to break his promise and ruined everything so he carefully chose his words.

"….my date" he finished and glanced at Elena who approved his response with a nod.

"Nice to meet you Elena…you look stunning. First time at our event?" he asked warmly and Elena felt comfortable with the pair. "Yes…"

"Don't worry, it's not as intimidating as it looks. Most of these people are a bunch of phonies. They just talk big…only few of us who actually does the work."

Elena was glad the first couple they met was Carl and Lindsay, it calmed her nerves. After, departing from the humble couple, Damon met the Senior Manager who came with his fiancé, Debra. Mr. Rogers knew Damon and greeted him promptly. Damon then introduced Elena and they started small talk. One minute later however, the conversation took a turn and words like 'merger', 'value stream', and 'quality function deployment' started flying around.

He confidently told Mr. Rogers about his latest project to collaborate with a European company to which Mr. Rogers seemed very interested in.

The words coming out of his mouth were so big and the topic they were discussing was so complicated, Elena had a hard time keeping up. Who knew Damon could sound so…so…SMART! If she shut her eyes, it was almost like she was listening to a Bloomberg newscaster.

_'Who is this guy? This isn't Damon!'_

Elena stared at him unblinkingly just to confirm she was with the right person. Unfortunately, Debra had mistaken her skeptical gaze as a crazy-in-love-couple gaze. "Awww, you two look very in love…"

"What?" They said in unison and stared at each other. "No no, we're…not in that type of…" Elena blurted but her words drowned out…

"Thank you Debra. We do look great together don't we?" Damon flashed a huge smile. "She's my little schnookums…" he looked way too satisfied with that remark.

A few polite exchanges of smiles and laughs later, Mr. Rogers invited Damon and Elena to join his table once dinner was served.

_'Score!'_

Damon was so happy with the offer if that meant he could talk to all the other big people around the table. If he could get their support for the project, he wouldn't need Klaus's authorization and constant yapping. And who knows, maybe even a promotion around the corner.

They bumped into a few more people in the next 30 minutes where Damon talked business and Elena charmed her way through their hearts. Whenever they encountered more couple related questions, Damon kept calling her a bunch of animal names like 'she's my bunny bear' or 'my snuggle monkey'. Elena figured as the night progressed and he got hungrier, Damon started to refer to her as his 'fudge nugget' and 'squeegee cakes'.

_'What the hell was a squeegee cake anyways?'_ Elena's head screamed.

Those ridiculous nick names he'd given her did not make sense enough to confirm she was his girlfriend therefore did not break the 3rd rule of their contract. If anything, it confirmed her to be his pet or some sort of dessert.

But Damon had to admit, things were going pretty well so far, the amount of interest others had in them was mind blowing. Last year when he went alone, no one gave a damn. He just got brushed off so fast and ignored. He could even be juggling flaming swords and nobody would care.

He finally knew how Brad and Angelina must have felt in all those award shows with all eyes on them. But of course, Angie would let Brad put his hands all over her whereas Elena probably placed electric shock buzzers on her ass to warn him off.

**TaaDaaa...Will update the next part soon. Leave a comment.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here's where we left off. Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this story.**

An announcement blared through the speakers in the ballroom, inviting guests to enter.

Dinner was served and people started to go to their tables. Damon took a minute to check on Elena. "How are you doing? Everything good?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I'm great…" she sipped her white wine, feeling a little tipsy.

_'This is some expensive bubbly!'_ she swirled it in her mouth to savor the taste until the next time she get to enjoy this kind of lavish drink..which is never again!

"How bout you?"

"My mouth hurts from talking too much. Not sure if I can chew later…" he rubbed his square jaws.

"I think you're doing great…" she patted Damon on the back like a little league baseball coach and then realized she was losing control of her reflexes from all the alcohol. "Just bare with it a little bit more until after we meet Mr. Frederick…" Elena encouraged on and offered him a sip from her glass.

_'Wow, she's really into this… Elena's a real sport…she has her game face on. Must really hurt to even be standing for so long in those shoes…she's like the best wingman ever!' _Damon mentally applauded her.

"Hey Daaymon!" Dean's voice alerted them. He and Alaric came towards them only to slow down and hesitated when their eyes bulged out after spotting Elena. Their macho stride suddenly turned into clumsy zigzags, racing to reach her first.

_'Idiots!' _ Damon helplessly watched as his two best friends embarrassed themselves.

"Elena, these are my colleagues…Alaric and Dean" He introduced.

"So..aaaa, is this your date, Damon?" Alaric had the goofiest smile plastered on his face.

"Hi, I'm Elena…" She held out her hand and Dean took it in his for a bit longer than what a hand shake usually lasted for. "Hi, I'm Dean. Nice to meet you Elena…"

And then he did the most horrible flirting process ever known to men

Step 1: He winked…

Step 2: He pursed his lips…

Step 3: Narrowed his gaze…

Step 4: Wiggled his eyebrows…

"OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH DEAN!" Damon pushed his face away with his palms. "Elena, you don't want to see the rest of that ridiculous flirting technique; and there's like a hundred more steps of it…"

"You're the one who taught me that!"

"Hey, you're neighbor Elena? Damon told me about you. So, you guys are dating now or what?" Alaric finally recalled her name.

"No, I'm just doing him a favor…"

"Yup, I'm reeling in the big fishes with some sexy bait…" Damon twirled her for display. "…and guess who got invited to sit at the big table? Not you two…" they gave each other a high five while Dean and Alaric felt really shitty inside.

"See, I told you we should have brought dates, Ric!"

"Whatever man, we walk in dateless but we'll walk out of here with dates…you'll see Damon. We'll be walking out as winners, that's our game plan…living it up at the singles' table…" he broke out some moves right there in the middle of the hallway.

"Real classy Alaric…now do me a favor and jump out that window right there. Seesh…" But Damon was completely ignored.

"Woohoo… enjoy your boring night at the senior's table…"

"Thank you…I think we will…" Damon smiled smugly before entering the ballroom.

After locating their table, they took their seats as the lights dimmed. A spotlight was directed on the podium where the MC started to welcome the guests. They looked around and saw Mr. Frederick at the table just in front of them. Mr. Rogers and his fiancée sat a couple of seats away so Damon and Elena greeted the people on their sides, a Mr. and Mrs. Berenson-something.

As the introduction carried on and on endlessly, Damon and Elena was the only pair at the table that lost interest and got bored. That was something they both had in common; 'short attention span'.

"Hey look, it's the kid's table…wave at our kids" she saw Alaric and Dean sitting on the furthest table at the back of the hall. They couldn't help but sneered when they saw the guy's envious faces and waved secretly. "Yeah they sure look like they're 'living it up'"

It was hard to be excited around a table full of dicks since most of the single girls were seated in another table. As lively as a zombie, they could tell it was boring way over there. Dean looked like was trying to bend a spoon with his mind by staring at it while Alaric glared at them in jealousy…there was way more expensive wine served at Damon's and Elena's table.

Another person was called up by the MC to give a speech but it was just as long and boring and monotone as the previous introductions.

_"Urrghhh"_

_"Oh maann!"_

"_Jesus…_" They both groaned.

Damon forced himself to focus while Elena fiddled with the event tentative card on her plate. It said that there was going to be award winners…interesting.

"Damon, they're gonna give out awards around 10pm…" she whispered by his ear. "Yeah, they do that every year…it's bogus. Doesn't really mean anything…" he kept his eye on the stage and registered the words he'd been listening too, no matter how close his ears were to bleeding.

"So these awards are meaningless?" Elena tugged at his sleeve.

"Yeah, it's as pointless as alcohol at an AA meeting…"

"But you're name is on it…"

"Where?" Damon turned his head so quickly; he almost ripped a neck muscle. He searched through the card in Elena's hand.

_Best office clown and Jack ass_

_~Damon Salvatore~_

Hand written in blue ink when everything else was printed black.

"Ha..ha..very funny…Elena" Damon poked the side of her ribs and Elena scwrimed away from his hands, trying hard to muffle her laughs.

"You two remind me of how I was with my husband in our younger days…" Mrs. Berenson-something suddenly said to them with a loving look on her face as she reminisced the days when her tushie didn't sag. Damon and Elena just gave the sweet old woman a smile and sat straighter in their chairs.

They looked like a couple of misbehaved kids who just got lectured and reminded themselves that this was the serious adult's table, the serious Senior Manager was two seats away from them and the CEO sat less than 3 meters away.

When all the speeches were over, they finally get to eat. But instead of stuffing their faces like their intestines were telling them to, at the adult table, you only eat 0.1% of the food and spend the rest of the time talking.

Elena nodded and smiled as the old lady next to her spoke; her food had been dangling at her fork for a good 10 minute but just couldn't reach her mouth.

_'I'm so hungry…please stop talking…please stop talking …please stop talking so I don't have to starve…' _Elena's fake smile was wearing off.

"…and that's how I met my Howie..So how did you two meet?" the woman asked.

_'Oh thank god, she paused!'_

Elena took the golden opportunity and yanked Damon to her, "Doodie poo, Mrs. Berenson here wants to know how we met. Why don't you tell her all about it…" she batted her eyelashes sweetly.

_'Did she really just called me doodie…as in shit?!' _Damon raised his eyebrow at her.

But something in her eyes shouted _'You better talk to this woman or so help me God…I will shoot laser out of my eyes!'_.

"Aaah..okay…sure" Damon confusingly looked back and forth between her and the old lady.

While he tried to make up some story, Elena munched a few big bites out of her grilled chicken and salad.

_'Oohhh…so good!' _she washed down her food with some red wine.

"….and then, as I was about to board the plane, I heard someone calling my name like a crazy person. And it turns out she was chasing me around the airport with this huge sign that wrote _'I can't live without you, Damon'_… she was begging me not to leave her…" Damon finished his story while Mrs. Berenson's eyes glistened, falling madly in love with the chick flick Damon spun out.

"And she chased you around bare footed too? Oh, that is so romantic…" The old lady clamped her hands together and Elena gave her a shy smile while Damon patted her arms 'lovingly'.

Internally though, she was ready to stab Damon's thigh with her butter knife.

All joking aside, the award giving ceremony on the stage finally ended and the MC invited couples to the dance floor as slow music started to play. Elena didn't mind dancing when Damon asked; they were both really tired from sitting so long, their muscles needed to stretch.

She didn't think too much of it when he took her hand and placed in on his shoulder, then casually placed his hand on her waist as they started swaying to the music. They were more focused on complaining,

"My back is killing me…"

"I know...I've been crossing my legs for so long, it cramped up…I'm sorry Damon, but I don't think I'll be attending this again next year"

"I don't blame ya…" he spun her around and they both laughed, feeling light headed.

Suddenly they ran out of things to say and instead caught gazing at each other. Silence fell between them.

Damon tightened his grip and pulled Elena closer to him, letting her scent mingle with the tingling feeling from all the wine he'd been drinking. He loved the feel of her body against his and rested the side of his head next to hers.

Moving in lazy but intimate swaying, Elena exhaled and let her body relaxed in Damon's arms, his strong frame supporting her. She had no idea how or when they had gotten really comfortable with each other but the way they were dancing didn't bother her at all, it was so….natural. She can't deny how much fun she was having with Damon.

There was no pressure, no expectations and she felt free to be who she was when around him. A warm unfamiliar feeling crept up her body at their nearness.

Damon was enjoying the company of a beautiful woman and ran his hand up and down her back without knowing what it did to her heart rate. He felt Elena clung tighter to his shoulders and then pulled back to see her face, hauntingly gorgeous.

"You're so beautiful Elena…" he said without much thought.

Elena blushed and her body stiffened. Damon didn't know why he said that, but he didn't regret it either especially when it's very true. He ran his gaze over her.

Her brown hair was held up in a sexy up do with some tendrils loose around her face, her thick lashes fanned out against her satiny skin and her lips were tainted soft pink. Beyond that, her petite waist fitted in his arms perfectly…

_'…like two pieces of puzzle that matched together. Urrghhh…that was so cheesy'_ Damon shook his head.

But his compliment had made the air between them a little tensed and Elena quickly cleared her throat. "We should…ermm…find Mr. Frederick so you could get a chance to talk to him" she pushed uneasy thoughts from her mind and concentrated on their goal.

She led him off the dance floor and toward a crowd of men. She figured Mr. Frederick would be somewhere there. After searching on tip toe, they finally spotted him alone by the tables and too Elena's surprise, it was him who called out to Damon.

"Damon, how are you? Good to see you again…"he took Damon's handshake and gave a heavy slap on the back. Mr. Frederick was a medium sized man in his late 50's. He had a cool but powerful vibe to him, like he could snap his fingers and have all his workers rolled over.

"And who's the lovely lady?" He took her hand and landed an old style kiss on it.

"I'm Elena. It's such a pleasure to meet the CEO. It's not every day I have the chance to…" she had successfully hypnotized Mr. Frederick with a wide smile.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine Ms. Elena. You know Damon here is a very persistent guy. He never fails to find me in this big crowd every year with some new ideas. He's very enthusiastic about what he does…a dedicated worker. I like it." He kept squeezing Damon's shoulders and shook him.

Damon just smiled and watched Elena giggled at him. Mr. Frederick was going to drag on about what a great guy he was, which is not really a problem but Damon was hell bent on discussing his new project. Now all he has to do is change the subject. It was harder than expected when Mr. Frederick can't stop talking.

Damon sent an S.O.S signal to his wingman by blinking crazily at Elena. She was confused for a moment.

_'What the hell is going on with Damon's eyes… looks like something flew into his eyes…yeah like a pigeon!' _

And then she finally caught on, "Oh, oh yes…errr, he is a very persistent man. In fact, did you know about the latest project he's been working on? I think it would be a great success…"

"If you think so my dear, that it must be true…" Mr. Frederick chuckled.

"Oh yes, it's all I hear about every day. Damon has been working really hard on it…" She saw curiosity bubbling up in him.

"This European company in Amsterdam agreed to look into a huge collaboration with your company. They seem really interested so Damon jumped on it straight away. According to the stats I see every day at my work place, it's a 100% guaranteed successful deal. So I think Damon made the right call…"

Damon and Mr. Frederick looked at her speechless. "100%?" the older man asked.

"Okay okay…maybe not 100%. Just 95% guaranteed…"

Mr. Frederick was really pleased with the information and shook Damon's shoulders harder until his insides turned into a smoothie while laughing heartily. "That's a smart move Damon; I've been hearing about companies there for a while now but never got around to it. Tell you what…come by my office next Wednesday before I fly back to HQ and we'll run through the project plan. No appointments needed…"

Elena felt so excited for Damon and clapped her hands gaily although it was probably not the right reaction… while Damon's mind left his body and went to his happy place where a celebration party was already in full swing.

Damon was paralyzed and stared into the distance blankly with a grin. He was probably riding a unicorn on a rainbow deep in his mind so he was unable to speak. Elena was the only one left to say goodbyes and thank yous' to Mr. Frederick.

** The night is still not over..stay tuned.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi readers...been a little busy lately but I'll try my best to update as soon as I can because I luuve yooou :)**

**Disclaimer :I do not own the characters in this story.**

Elena switched her weight to her left foot…and then switched it back to the right foot. She put one leg in front of the other and rubbed her things together. She even tried wiggling her ass a little bit while she stood, discretely of course.

_'Nope, not getting any better…'_

"Elena, what the hell is wrong with you?" he whispered after noticing she was fidgety for the past 20 minutes. Things were going so well, he can't have her performance faltered now. After talking to Mr. Frederick, his mission was accomplished but being the high achiever that he was; Damon thought it wouldn't hurt to make a few more rounds in the crowd.

Elena wanted to say 'nothing' like she did the past ten times he'd asked but she can't take it anymore; it was so annoying and at some point, very painful.' _Oh what the fuck… '_

"I have to 'adjust' something…my thong is riding up my butt…" she sounded dead serious like it was a 'bank-robbery-typed' of emergency but couldn't look him in the eye when she said that.

Damon just stared at her with a weird out expression. He was silent for a while as if he was really sympathetic with her plight…and then…

"What color thong are you wearing?"

SMACK!

His wiggling eyebrows almost got ripped off his face by Elena's purse when she hit his head with it. _'Great, now they're fighting, looking more and more like a real couple by the minute'_ Elena thought.

"Not Helping Damon!"

"Just go to the lady's washroom. Its right up stairs…" he rubbed his sore head.

"You'd be surprised that for a behemoth hotel ballroom, the toilet is the size of a broom closet. It's totally cramped up in there and the queue stretched for miles…" she nervously looked around for some ideas.

"Just pull your thong out of your butt…want me to do it?"

"Damon, if you're not going to be helpful…." She was boiling up and Damon backed up a few steps when she gave him the 'crazy eyes'. Who would have thought a little problem like a wedgie would get her all worked up like this.

"Okay, okay fine…come with me." He took her hand and led her out of the ballroom. The halls were empty. They took a left turn and saw a 'staff only' entrance door behind a wall. It was locked and looked like nobody would exit or enter it. Damon cornered Elena between the wall and the door and used his body to block her from public view. It was a small space and they had to stand really close to each other.

She wasn't sure if she was scared or the adrenaline was kicking in but Elena's heart started to race. Damon's breaths were shallow as he stared at her up and down. "We'll get on with it! I'll be dead if my boss catches me like this" placing both his hands on either side of her head against the wall.

"Okay, turn your head…don't look!" she was so nervous, her guts were doing cartwheels. But when Damon looked away, she quickly ducked her hand under her tight dress and pulled down her thong. If she kept it on, that sucker would be bothering her all night and she would have to repeatedly sneak away and 'adjust' herself.

She bent down to unloop her thong from her heels and Damon stole a glance…his jaws dropped to the floor and dislocated itself.

"Wh-What the heck are you doing?" he hissed. His throat suddenly felt dry when he saw what she was doing.

_'Fuuuuuuckkk. Does she have any idea how insanely sexy this is?" his head screamed. _Damon was seriously turned on as he watched Elena's thong slid down her shapely legs and she tucked it away in her tiny purse. And of course, it had to be his favorite color.

"Okay…I'm done. C'mon lets go…" she grabbed his elbow and tugged him back towards the ballroom.

_'Good for you…I'm obviously not 'done'' _Damon glanced down his pants that was tightening at the crotch.

* * *

><p>Damon lost interest in chatting up the bosses and instead let Elena do most of the talking when they were approached by more couples. The Head of Finance Department and his wife invited them to their country club next Sunday, Mr. Howard, Chief of Business Office asked if Damon was up for a game of golf anytime next week and Veronica from Commercial Office just adored Elena's dress and offered her to go shopping sometime.<p>

Elena simply smiled sweetly and told them how delighted they would be to join in. Once, they were left alone though, she punched Damon in the arm "Damon! What's wrong with you? Work your magic….focus!" she seethed.

_'How!?…exactly HOW do you expect me to focus the rest of the night after what I just saw?' _

He just gave an annoyed glare at her and walked off for more booze.

His eyeballs were so strained from obsessively watching Elena's ass, he needed to tare his eyes away for a few minutes before they burst out of their sockets. He can't help himself especially when he knew she has absolutely nothing under there.

_'Worst idea everrrrr! Should have just brought my aunt…'_ his head screamed as he ordered another round of…whatever he was having the last couple of glass. He landed his forehead on the counter and felt a hard slap on his back.

"Hey hey, there he is…man of the hour. Everyone wants to meet you are your hot date. So how does it feel to not be invisible?" Alaric circled his shoulders but Damon was so sexually frustrated, he can't think at all. "Are you tired from all the action already? When I say action I mean 'chatting with old people'…"

"Oooh no Rick. I'm not tired at all…All my energy is just building up right here…right in my pants" he shot back at his friend. Alaric just looked at him all confused.

It looked like he was sexually frustrated and really pissed off. Why? Because Elena was freaking turning him on so much, he was getting a headache from being so attracted to her and fantasizing so much. And the frustrating part of it was that she was off limits. He can't hook up with her…she's not just some girl, she's Elena!

As in neighbor Elena…

Dating Stefan, Elena…

Sort of buddies, Elena.

If he let his horniness get in the way, whatever they have going on between them would be ruined in a heartbeat.

"Okay, hey chill man…I don't know what kind of crisis you're having right now with your 'mini me'…" Alaric can be so clueless sometimes.

" But you look like shit…so what say we hit the karaoke bar after this thing's done? You, me, Dean…a couple of secretaries from Public Relations…" Alaric offered, shaking Damon's shoulders as if to wake him up. But a bucket of cold water was probably more effective.

"Okay, sure, fine…whatever" Maybe he can release all this energy with a random secretary from Public Relations or whatever…as long as he doesn't mess things up with Elena.

Once he filled up at the bar, Damon dreaded having to face Elena's hot bod and ass again. So he shook his head and snapped out of it. "okay Ric give me one right here…a good thundering slap" he turned his cheek at Ric. "Are you drunk man? I'm not gonna hit you!"

"Why not? We're bros right? Man up and slap me already…"

"You're crazy. It's that Elena chick isn't it? She got you acting all psychotic and shit…"

Their ridiculous fit was attracting attention and the bartender wondered if they had one too many. They were at it for a while until…

A hard slap landed on Damon's face that crossed his eyes and blurred his vision, "Aaaoow…dammit! Dean! What the hell?"

"You're welcome…now get your date so we can get our karaoke on!"

"Elena's not coming. No girls allowed, just us guys and secretaries…" He gave Alaric a fist bump.

"You already have a hot date…don't mack on our ladies. If you're not taking Elena, I will!" Dean had a eureka moment.

"No!" he shrieked a little louder than he intended to, "Elena is off limits. That card is off the table. I'm putting a big 'NO' sign on her …"

"Oooo, very territorial of you, Damon…" They started to laugh at his antics.

"Yeah, why don't you just pee all over her and mark your territory…" They had to admit, poking fun at Damon was the highlight of their night (excluding what happened at karaoke)

Alaric and Dean had known him, for a long, long time but this…this strange behavior was really unexpected especially towards a girl who was his 'pretend date'.

Damon just gritted his teeth and made his way back to Elena, his head still buzzing from Dean's slap. He was going to send her home and then come up with some lame excuse to go back out.

"You went to the bar and didn't get me anything?" Elena glanced at him as Damon repulsed the magnetic attraction his eyes were having to Elena's ass. "Yup…it's getting late. We should get going. Most of the people left already" it took him a lot of mind power to keep his gaze strictly at her face.

_'Must…maintain…eye contact…' _his gaze was so concentrated, he seemed like he was trying to hypnotize her or put her under compulsion. From Elena's point of view though, he looked like a husky caught in the headlights.

She looked around and saw less number of guests. There were only few left chatting around the ballroom and at the bar. Her watch showed 15 minutes past 11 and decided to call it a night.

"Are you excited?" Elena asked as they waited for the red light to switch. Damon took one hand off the steering wheel and yanked his nerdy bow tie off his collar. "About what?"

"…your meeting with Mr. Frederick! God, if I were you, I'd be so nervous…" Elena took off her killer heels.

_'One, two, three, four, five…yup I still have feeling in all five to toes…'_ she rubbed her swollen feet.

"A little but he's a cool guy. I won't stress about it too much." He glanced at Elena who was staring out the window. "Hey thanks for doing this tonight Elena. You really helped me out a lot…it was far better than what I expected."

Sure the only reason she even came was because they owed each other favors but Damon really appreciated it. His smile was so sincere as he met her eyes. Elena never saw Damon this way, tender and honest, looking at her like she was his life saver.

"It was nothing really, I had a lot of fun, good food, good drinks…and you're not the worst company in the world, Damon." She did her own version of 'eye thing' that was surprisingly sexy; Damon almost forgot to move his car as the light turned green.

They pulled up by the side walk in front of the apartment building but he didn't park his car. He watched her slip back into her heels and Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you coming up?"

_'Wooah, did I just say that? I sound like a girl after a date, inviting the guy up to my apartment for 'refreshments'…Please god…let him not hear what I said!' _

It was too late, he heard it loud and clear.

Now, she had to face his obnoxious brows wiggling yet again. This was the consequences of saying ANYTHING remotely suggestive to Damon Salvatore and she regretted the words. Elena swear, he was like a flirty time bomb, ready to blow up in her face at any moment…

"Thanks for the invite Elena. Did you plan for this to happen or was it my oozing sex appeal that got you hot and bothered?" he gave her a seductive smirk that he had mastered since he was still in diapers.

"You know, the only reason I put on that dorky bow tie was to tone down my attractiveness...well, obviously it didn't work."

"Oh God, Damon!Shut up, you know what I meant…"

"I'm truly flattered...thanks but no thanks…you can't lure me into that prison cellar you call home, Elena…no matter how hot you look…"

"Whatever!" she rolled her eyes.

After their giggles died down, they were quiet for a moment. Elena's feet seemed cemented to the floor and she couldn't get out from the car. She fiddled with the buckles on her black leather purse instead. Damon unintentionally let out a loud sigh and looked ahead, not realizing he didn't unlock the door for her to exit either. After a long night, they both were expecting…something…but not really sure what.

It was silent…for a long time.

"Elena…I…" his blue eye finally made contact with her brown ones. She arched her delicate eyebrows but Damon couldn't find what to say. He just sat there for a while…

before leaning over to her, placing his hand behind her head rest.

Time slowed itself and Elena held in her breath. She was scared? No…excited? No…confused?

Well whatever it was she was feeling made her shut her eyes and strangled her purse really tight as Damon's face came closer to hers, his manly perfume surrounded her.

Damon's square jaws tightened and he tilted his head slightly, his lips landed a gentle kiss on Elena's cheek.

He pulled away to study her face. They both let out a breath they didn't know they were holding and Elena's eyes opened to see his intense gaze.

"Thanks again, Elena. I had aaa….a really good time with you tonight" he didn't mean for his voice to be all husky and before his body could betray him (like it notoriously does so many times before), Damon leaned back into the driver's seat, keeping a safe distance from Elena.

Elena's heart almost leaped out of her throat after his unexpected kiss and really sweet words. She blinked a few times, completely speechless. She managed to give a smile before she exited his car but before she could close the door, Damon called out to her one last time, "By the way…we're even now. Call it truce?"

She bit her lower lip and thought about it for a while, "Okay, truce…" she shut the passenger's door as they exchange smiles and then he drove off.

It felt like a victorious moment, a truce...a peace agreement between her and Damon that would guarantee her a peaceful, non-chaotic life…free from his craziness that had been driving her up the wall for months.

He'll stop being annoying…

They didn't have to play tricks on each other anymore…

They didn't owe anything to each other anymore…

But there was something else she was feeling…something weird and unusual, something very confusing.

**Wow, this story has a lot of chapters. I didn't mean for it to happen...sorry coz i know how some people lose interest when the chapters are close to infinity. Anyways, I like this story because they've come a long way. The attraction they have to each other are merely on the surface but with more time and work...it will deepened - if they allow it to ;D**


End file.
